Calisen Impact: Eco-Schools partnership update

The Eco-Schools programme, operated by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, harnesses the passion and concern of young people on issues such as climate change, bio-diversity loss and plastic pollution.

 

Through the programme, children are supported to make a difference in their school, local community and beyond, with completion of a seven-step framework earning them the prestigious Eco-Schools Green Flag, an internationally recognised award for excellence in environmental action and learning.

 

Each Green Flag costs around £200, so sponsorship from Calisen enables children to learn about preservation and how to make the world a cleaner, greener space without compromising the school's budget. In 2023-24 we proudly supported 20 schools across Greater Manchester, helping with the cost of their Green Flag accreditation as well as funding one of the 10 Sustainability Topics: Energy.

 

Here you can read our 2023-24 Summary and Impacts report.

 

Read on for what we've been up to recently, including a ‘bee assembly’ with one of the schools we support, St Cuthbert's Primary, some beautiful thank you cards from Broadoak Primary, and some positive feedback on why the Green Flag award makes such a difference to young people’s lives!

 

 

St Cuthbert's Primary

 

We've supported St Cuthbert's for a couple of years now and were delighted to see them retain their Green Flag status this year.

 

Our recent visit to the school included a ‘bee assembly’ from our Commercial Director - Water, Ben Etherington plus the chance for the children to plant some seeds.

 

 

Here's a message we received from one of the teachers at St Cuthbert's, including some quotes from the children:

 

 

"Thank you for your help arranging the activities last week. The bee talk was very informative and really enjoyable. I have had lots of children come to me to speak about it and even the teachers commented that they learned new information too! All classes were kindly gifted some honey from Ben the Beekeeper and have enjoyed tasting sessions."

 

 

"Our Eco Warriors from across the school (one from each class), relished the opportunity to plant bulbs and plants in our school grounds with your volunteers. Every child enjoyed taking part and learned a lot too."

 

 

"Your volunteers interacted brilliantly with the children and this helped them to feel comfortable enough to get involved straight away." 

 

Here are a few quotes I received from the children:
 

 

“I loved planting the bulbs – I'm so excited to watch them grow! 

 

 

“This is the best day ever!”

 

 

“I'm happy we've planted more flowers for the bees.” 

 

 

Broadoak Primary

 

We received some lovely thank you cards from the children at Broadoak, who wanted to express their gratitude for our funding their Eco-Schools Green Flag.

 

 

Below is a quote from a member of staff at Broadoak, and below that are the thank you posters and some words from one pupil and two parents.

 

 

"I wanted to send over some ‘thank you’ posters made by our Eco-Council today - the children wanted to make these posters using recycled paper."

 

"We wanted to thank Calisen for funding our Eco-School Award for 2024. Thank you again!"

 

 

And lastly, some comments from other schools who have received our support towards their Green Flag accreditation:

 

 

“Why did I join the school’s Eco-Committee? To help change the world!” - pupil, Claremont Primary School, Manchester

 

 

“MY child is keen to talk about the ‘Earth Steward’ group and the work they do each week. She has been inspired to want to do more in our community for our local ‘Slattocks Green Belt’ group in looking to help organise regular litter picks. We have bought gloves and litter pickers to use at home and in our community. At home she is always reminding the family to switch off lights when we leave a room and has become more knowledgeable about energy saving. When we are ‘out and about’ she is constantly looking out for wildlife and habitats.” - parent, St John’s CE Primary School, Thornham

 

“The nursery’s eco committee has done an amazing job this academic year. They’ve instilled a love for the environment in our children through hands-on projects and daily eco-friendly practices, making a lasting impact on their understanding of sustainability.  - parent of a child at Manchester Montessori House Nursery