The DECOs’ Environmental Review Results
On Monday 2 December the DECOs announced the findings of their recent Environmental Review in Whole School Assembly. Each member of the DECOs was given a topic to review, ranging from Litter and Transport to Biodiversity. Read the key findings here and watch this space in 2020 for news about our Action Plan, which will be based upon these findings and will focus on the three areas of Waste, Energy and Transport.
Happy reading!
Ada: I looked into Biodiversity
The areas in which we are doing well in Biodiversity are having lots of wildflower meadows, butterfly and bee-friendly plants and log piles for invertebrates. Areas that we could improve on are sponsoring endangered animals or visiting conservation areas.
Helena: I did a Marine review
I was really pleased when I found out from my Marine review that all the fish for our meals are sustainably caught, and at Downe House we are trying our best to reduce our carbon footprint connected to our food. All the detergent and cleaning products that are used here are all environmentally friendly too.
Dedee: I was looking into Litter
Litter is such a common and highly visible aspect of environmental awareness. Overall, our school is very clean and tidy so we don’t have much litter. Though, there are some things we can improve on in this area. For example, installing different kinds of bins, like compost bins, or doing a litter pick around school.
Clara: I researched transport at Downe House
We found out that about 60-80% of students were commuting to School by car and we discussed sharing taxis more often with other students. We also suggested that teachers who can walk to work should do it more often, to minimise the emissions generated. We have decided that the London bus is a very convenient and environmentally friendly way to get to School so should definitely be encouraged and we are going to focus on Transport in our Action Plan this year.
Nellie: I compiled results for Global Citizenship
The results for Global Citizenship were extremely promising as we scored 22 out of a possible 27 points in the review. Downe House offers a wide variety of languages to study as well as conducting global exchanges to partner schools. We also regularly fundraise for local and international charities through mufti days, bake sales and House charities. Big thumbs up to the catering team too, who buy Fair Trade and local produce for us to enjoy!
Helena: I did a Marine review
I was really pleased when I found out from my Marine review that all the fish for our meals are sustainably caught, and at Downe House we are trying our best to reduce our carbon footprint connected to our food. All the detergent and cleaning products that are used here are all environmentally friendly too.
Zoe: My topic was Healthy Living
When looking at my section on Healthy Living I discovered that we as a School offer a wide range of healthy food and are well-taught on how to live and eat healthily, even if we can’t help a trip to the tuck shop. The dining room prepares meals for those with specific requirements as well as multiple, hot, cold, vegetarian and occasionally vegan options with every meal. With little needed in the way of improving our ‘Healthy Living’ sector, our only battle is with our food waste. Waste is going to be our second topic we are going to focus on in our Action Plan.
Elodie: I researched the topic of Energy
On the topic of energy we have discovered that the School already takes some positive steps such as using motion sensor lighting and placing solar panels on the roof of the Murray Centre; however, we feel there is more that can be done through ensuring replaced lights are energy efficient and that radiators are improved, and we have decided to focus on energy as one of our final topics for improvement as a result.
You can read the full Environmental Review here.
