Priya Hira, Sustainability Lead at James Allen’s Girls’ School, on why student engagement is the key to unlocking a sustainable future.
In recent years a tradition has emerged each September at James Allen’s Girls’ School (JAGS). As our new Year 7s get acquainted with their surroundings and life at senior school, they pay a visit to our Composting Station for their Sustainability Induction.
The Composting Station is exactly what it sounds like; there’s a hulking 200-litre composter (which, in the true spirit of sustainability, was acquired for free second-hand), food waste caddies (from our kitchen), a tonne bag of wood chips (chipped from trees on our site) and large maturation boxes to store the compost produced.
You would be excused for assuming the chance to turn the handle of a composter may not be cause for much excitement. However, the enthusiasm each induction creates among our students means we are constantly left wanting more food waste to satisfy their composting appetite.
Since its installation three years ago, the composter has become emblematic of the sweeping changes we have been able to implement at JAGS. It helps us succinctly illustrate the principles of a circular economy. Food waste is taken from the dining hall, transformed into compost, and spread on our botany garden to help grow food which is then harvested and used by our kitchen.
“Once they understand they have the power to make tangible improvements and changes, there’s no stopping them”
And, importantly, the whole process runs on girl power rather than electricity. Just as the students are determined to keep spinning the composter, once they understand they have the power to make tangible improvements and changes, there’s no stopping them. Never has a generation been so conscious of sustainability and student engagement has been pivotal in allowing us to beckon in such a rapid sea-change across the school. Students recognise that their voices are heard and this, in turn, acts as a driving force.
There are over 50 designated Eco Champions operating across our Junior and Senior schools. They have been responsible for changes which range from the food served on our lunch menu to the material used to manufacture our uniforms. Sustainability has become embedded in the school’s culture; our Art Scholars have produced shows with work made entirely from recycled materials, while our Drama Department produced costumes and sets using only recycled materials for a recent production.
Students have also been given the freedom to start co-curricular clubs exploring these interests; The Incredible Edibles club works with our Botany Team to grow a variety of healthy foods for our kitchen, and students in The Repair Club breathe new life into damaged or worn items from our community. The tenacity of our students is mirrored by our staff who, behind the scenes, are implementing important (if perhaps less glamorous) changes to our structures and processes.
If the start of the academic year is defined by an introduction to sustainability, the end serves as a celebration of it. In the Summer Term, staff and students who have been particularly devoted to the eco cause are commended in front of the entire school community through our Sustainability Awards.
On top of giving students the power to make a difference, we have seen that celebrating those achievements plants the seeds of inspiration for further change. And so, our own circular economy begins to spin again at JAGS.
James Allen’s Girls’ School (JAGS) jags.org.uk
Further reading: The power of giving back
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