schools, rivers and waste
Ref: W04

School children using paper

Schools are places where lots of people come together from the local community to spend quite a lot of their time. Have a go at working out how much time you spend in school a week, and then think about a whole year! With so many people and so much time spent there, schools are places that can have quite an impact on the environment, sometimes in a bad way, but also in a positive way with a little thought.

Farming (W06) and other industries (W03), have been seen to have direct impacts upon waste being released into rivers and therefore the water cycle (B02). For example, mining and quarrying or livestock farming and pesticide use can lead to soil, minerals and chemicals entering the watercourse.

In the page ‘Homes, rivers and waste’ (W05) the results of waste released into the water cycle and pollution were less obvious because the water which contained the waste was taken away in the sewage system. When the results of an action are not seen straight away or not found at the same place as the cause of the pollution, it is harder for people to see that there is a connection and that they can take steps to help.

We have already acknowledged that schools have a lot of people in them for most days of the week and most weeks of the year. All these people are using materials like paper, plastic and electricity, eating food, using the sinks and toilets and travelling to and from school each day.

Lunch time

So even though a school may not be producing paper, like a paper mill or growing crops for food, like a farm, a school is still using these things, or products each day and has to buy them. In this way the school has ‘Purchasing Power’, this means it can chose from where it buys food (for school meals), paper, equipment and cleaning products. Every individual and organisation or industry has this purchasing power.

Packaged food

Schools can choose to buy products from companies who try and reduce their impact on the environment. For example, buying recycled paper, which is non-bleached, means that less energy and water has gone into making the paper. It also means that pesticides and other chemicals are not needed to keep on growing new trees to replace those cut down for new paper. If the paper is non-bleached, it is better for the environment because bleach is a powerful chemical that kills plants and animals. This is especially the case in the watery environment where it ends up, affecting the balance of nature.

Walking to school

This is just one example of purchasing power, another is buying organic locally grown foods, and reducing the amount of processed and highly packaged food bought. Visit the Soil Association website for more information. As well as having direct positive effects for the environment (by reducing chemicals used to grow the crops and transport and package them) and therefore the health of all the creatures and plants that share the planet, it could also have direct health benefits for the pupils and teachers eating this kind of food. For more information visit the WHO website.

Cycling to school

Another example which will help to reduce the amounts of waste entering the environment and the water cycle in particular, is to reduce the need to use motorised transport. If you live only a short distance from your school, walk instead of getting a lift. The school gates would be a much safer place if there weren’t so many cars about. Your parents and teachers might be worried about the busy roads on the journey but there are safe and fun ways to travel to school on foot, have you heard of the walking bus? Visit council website page, Sustainable Transport for more information.

There are things that you will notice on your journey to school in the morning that you would never see, hear, smell or feel if you were in a car. If the distance is a bit too far to walk, what about cycling? You could even be involved in creating a cycle route! (visit Groundwork or Council websites).