All photos are here

Eco Day 2007 proved to be as wet as Eco Day 2006! The day started with a Fairtrade fashion show: clothes were generously donated by Sana Stephens of 'Timber' and were modelled by students from Years 7, 10 and 12. Sana then gave a brief talk and showed a video about the development of 'People Tree', an ethical clothing company.

After a short Fairtrade activity, students listened to a presentation from Nicole Van Den Eijnen from 'Changing the World'. Nicole subsequently ran two workshops. Students then moved into groups for a lively Fairtrade trading game. Students were randomly assigned to workshop groups. Thanks to the generosity of staff and visitors, 2007 saw a greater variety of workshops than ever before. They included ...

Tools for Self Reliance is based in Netley Marsh, near Totton. http://www.tfsr.org/ TFSR works with local organisations in some of the poorest countries in Africa. On Eco Day, there were two TFSR groups; one refurbished tools and packed an appliance repair kit for Fungua Macho group, Iringa, Tanzania. The other (shown in photo) refurbished a metal workers’ kit also destined for a Youth metal workers group in Tanzania. The latter is part of a Tools & Schools for Improved Livelihoods project. Both kits were despatched on July 7^th

Richard Osmond brought his ‘Wild Trek’ trailer into school and was able to provide some staff training before the student workshops. Students used high tech equipment to measure the diversity of the River Avon (from a sample!). They then undertook a biodiversity survey of the science pond. This showed astonishing diversity and results will be shown in 'Surveys' on this site. Pitfall traps had been set up the previous day to allow students to catch invertebrates. It was hoped that results would be used to show the relative importance of different areas of the school grounds in supporting biodiversity, providing a benchmark against which the impact of future developments in school can be measured. Unfortunately, rain made this aspect of the workshop impossible.

Students in this workshop were be encouraged to think about a world without fossil fuels; perhaps a more sustainable world. Had the weather is fine, students would have explored solar power and hot air balloons. Unfortunately, plans had to be modified and students had to consider other means of providing sustainable energy. 

Students in this workshop focused on wildlife in the school grounds. They considered the existing provision of habitats in the school grounds and the food chains that depend on them. Louise Fairless, a former Biology A-level student, who now studies Biology at University, brought in native birds of prey, and the two wildlife groups considered whether our habitats could sustain the ecosystems that these birds depend upon. The workshop provided useful information that ran in parallel to that supplied by the biodiversity group.

Can cleaning products, and beauty products that are sustainable be made cheaply enough for everyone to enjoy? Are excessive profits made by manufacturers or by middle men? This workshop looked at the rationale behind purchasing products with poor environmental credentials. Students compared the ‘green’ with the ‘non-green’, the sustainable and the non-sustainable. They also had the opportunity to make some household products that are less damaging to the environment. They also smelt wonderful!

Do you care about ‘green issues’? Do you care if our use of resources is sustainable or not? Why isn’t there a tax on plastic carrier bags? Are you bothered about reusing and recycling? Shouldn’t somebody stand up for these green issues and be counted? This workshop aimed to make students incandescent with rage, resulting in a noisy protest in Ringwood about people’s disregard for the environment. This in itself would be good, but the two workshops were carried out in French and Spanish! Students got drenched; the weather could not have been worse. Photos suggest that they weren't bothered though!

Students in these groups learn that an ecological (or environmental) footprint is a means of measuring one’s impact on the planet. Students calculated their footprint and then, using sugar paper cut-outs, they compared the  UK’s footprint  with those of other countries. One group took the environmental message still further, making footprints from recycled milk bottle tops!

Nicole Van Den Eijnen works for a movement called ‘We Are What We Do’ which has produced two inspirational books: Change the World for a Fiver’ and ‘Change the World 9 to 5’. In September ‘We Are What We Do’ is enlisting the help of young people from across England, to actively change the world around them. Through an alliance with the DfES, a national competition will find the next generation of small actions and big, world-shifting ideas. In these two workshops, students thought deeply about what needs to change and about some of the actions for the new book.

OBJECTIVE: To parallel global World War II ‘Dig For Victory’ concepts and the modern ‘global struggle’ against warming, pollution, poverty. Churchill said “Give us the tools and we'll finish the job”, a command that is perhaps as important today as during World War II. Tools for Self Reliance provided the tools, and the task of digging for victory fell upon the members of this workshop. Given that the wartime diet was reputed to be amongst the healthiest ever experience by the British, there were other lessons to be learnt from the workshop too. Although a great deal of digging was accomplished, the workshop was another casualty of the rain!

The school has an allotment at Hightown, about a mile from school. Members of this group all volunteered for the task of  undertaking routine tasks at the allotment such as weeding, digging, planting, hoeing and watering.  For most pupils it will be their first experience of the allotment. This workshop was perhaps the greatest casualty of the wet weather with students returning to school in a similar state to those on the languages demonstration.

Reducing the number of miles travelled by food is an aim of both Sara Wood, the canteen manager, and of the Eco group. This year, we have managed to grow a range of vegetables in raised beds and on the school allotment. Laverstoke Park organic farm have kindly donated produce to boost our supplies. Sara Wood drew up a master plan that allowed students in this workshop to prepare a magnificent lunch of locally produced food that was served to all staff involved in the day, to the students who prepared it and to our visitors.

The dance workshop neatly followed on from Sana Stephens'  'People Tree' video shown earlier in the day. Like 'People Tree' the dance explored ways of stopping the cycle of deprivation. Students considered child labour and bonded labour, both of which are used to produce our luxury goods. They  also explored materialism and how it affects our values and our world. A video was made of the dance routine. It shows just how successful this group was. We hope it will be available to post on the website later

Students in this workshop also developed some of the ideas presented in the Fairtrade fashion show, taking plastic bags and discarded textiles as a starting point. They turned these into useful and attractive garments which were modelled by students in this workshop the following day.

Students in this workshop worked on a sculpture created from recycled junk collected around the school, and from tools provided by Tools for Self Reliance. The sculpture was virtually complete by the end of Eco Day, and we hope it will form part of the school’s carnival float for Ringwood carnival in September. We love the sculpture, a kind of mini 'Weee Man'