Eco-Schools: Curriculum - what did you learn?

Welcome to this video on the Curriculum element of Eco-Schools. Always remember when working on any part of Eco-Schools to not only think about what you are doing, but why you are doing it. What is the purpose?

So, why do you need to think about what you are learning, or have learned, as part of Eco-Schools? A key part of Eco-Schools is learning new information, skills and ideas. This learning will help you throughout your life.

One of the most important ways Eco-Schools helps you to learn is through real life experiences in investigating, problem solving and decision making. By thinking about what you want to learn when you start your Eco-Schools journey, you will be able to plan your learning over the course of your Green Flag Award. When you get to the end of your Green Flag Award period, you can look back on what you have learned, helping that learning to stay with you in the long term.

When thinking about your learning, which subjects do you think you can learn about as part of Eco-Schools? Well, it's all of them! Eco-Schools is an opportunity for topics about the environment to become part of the day-to-day learning in your whole school, with all your subjects being covered by your Eco-Schools actions and activities.

For example, you might create artworks from natural materials, learn what plants need to grow and thrive, write letters asking for change, act to make your snack choices healthier, design and build birdhouses, learn about how to reduce your school's impact on the environment, run campaigns based on your moral values, or create graphs and charts of your progress. Think about which subjects you would like to include in your Action Plan.

As well as learning about your normal school subjects, there are some special areas of learning that are part of working on Eco-Schools. Learning about how we can all live sustainably in harmony with our environment is the right of every pupil in Scotland.

This includes learning about human impact on the planet and learning a better way to relate to the planet. Eco-Schools allows you to include this learning in what you are already doing so it becomes part of your normal lessons. It can be as simple as choosing a certain type of story book or taking a math lesson outside.

From nursery to secondary, Eco-Schools proves that learning to look after our environment is achievable in any setting. Think about how you can include learning about how to care for the environment in your Action Plan.

We know that pupils across Scotland have asked for more time learning outside. Getting outside during the school day is important for learning as well as good for the mental and physical health of pupils and teachers.

Eco-Schools gives you lots of opportunities to get outside, connecting you with your natural environment and local community. Think about how you could achieve the aims on your Action Plan with more time outside.

Whether it's in the classroom, assembly hall, or on the streets, Eco-Schools gives you the opportunity to use your voice to ask for the change you want to see. Eco-Schools have written letters, emails and launched campaigns that have seen local and national changes being made.

As part of our Live Lessons, we often send your work to Members of the Scottish Parliament and we have held question and answer sessions with cabinet ministers. How could you use your voice to stand up for the rights of people and the planet? Think about working together as a school or team up with other schools to make your voices even louder and have a bigger impact.

Let's look at some examples of learning with Eco-Schools to help inspire you.

Students at Stirling High School wrote articles about environmental topics for our Young Reporters for the Environment program as part of their English classes. Linnvale Primary School used the results of a litter survey to create a display that helped their whole school understand more about the litter problem in their area.

Pupils at St. Andrews Primary School learned about their local biodiversity and how to protect it by carrying out surveys, taking part in our LEAF program and creating several Pocket Gardens. Pupils at Banavie Primary School grew their own vegetables, then created a recipe book and cooked the produce they had grown.

Stenhouse Primary School organized a One World Week, which included attending our Live Lessons and teachers planning lessons around topics chosen by their Eco-Committee.

So, what are your next steps? Increasing awareness and knowledge of a Topic is the first step in taking action, so make sure you include learning about your Topics as part of your Action Plan.

Have a look at our website to see what we have coming up in terms of Live Lessons and project-based learning to help support your learning. When you come to make your Green Flag Award application, think back on what you have learned during your Eco-Schools journey and how you have shared this learning with your whole school and local community.

Please include this information in your application. We can't wait to hear about all the amazing things you have learned.

Thank you for listening, we wish you well on your Eco-Schools journey.