Leverstock Green Climate Change – Impact Statement

Leverstock Green CofE Primary School, is committed to taking action to tackle climate change and reducing our carbon footprint to as close to net-zero as possible by 2030.  Unless we take swift action in tackling CO2 emissions, the amount of waste from food and clothes, water and electricity, as well as the preservation of green spaces, the damage to our planet will be devastating, and will impact the lives of future generations to come. 

We recognise that by working together, through changing habits and behaviour, and embedding those changes, we can make a contribution which may seem small, but when done in conjunction with others, will make real change possible. By taking immediate action, we can ensure our future will be safer, cleaner and greener, not only for us, but for our children, and our children’s children!

The following are some examples of what will happen if we ignore this:  

• more extreme weather events
• poor air quality – pollution with contaminants and toxins
• less water in our rivers and streams
• increased plant and animal extinction 
• diminished human health and life expectancy

What we have achieved so far:

• New more energy efficient boiler in place
• New window walling to improve insulation
• New roof to improve insulation
• Fully replaced old lighting with energy-efficient LED lighting in all areas of the building
• Reduced our CO2 emissions display energy certificate (DEC)
• Introduced waste recycling for plastics, food and general in the staff room
• Introduced paper recycling in all classrooms
• Planted flowers and other small plants around the school grounds to encourage insects
• Planted trees on the fields (unfortunately, the trees did not survive the winter)
• Began to develop a wildlife area in our Forest School area to encourage bees and/or creepy craw lies and/or hedgehogs to be part of the school ecosystem and to teach children the importance of looking after the natural environment
• Worked with heating engineers to explore our boiler controls and avoid heating automatically turning on beyond frost protection measures (sometimes the controls switch on beyond 14C)
• Encouraged parents to support traffic reduction in the area by taking part in Walk to School Week
• Installed solar panelling which now produces enough electricity to cover 1/3 of our school building electricity costs
• Installed PIR sensors to replace all light switches in children’s toilets
• Attended Heart for the Earth training in October 24 to learn how environmental education can support the school’s Christian ethos
• All plug switches have red or green stickers (Eco Warriors switch all class lights and screens off each lunch time)

What we plan to do:

• Replace the large hot water tank in the Creative Studio with a small one to ensure it is more efficient and cost effective
• Plant further bulbs on the school site (seasonally)
• Develop the Forest School area to support and encourage local wildlife while also supporting environmental learning
• Send out a Parent Survey on Climate Action which will help to support targets in our school Action Plan
• Investigate further sustainability projects via sponsored means (Ecologi or alternative) 
• Work with local developers from the Westwick housing development on a local project to support wildlife conservation – bridges for hazel dormice which are a protected species found on our school site
• Access a Sustainability Planning workshop (13.6.25) to support and inform next steps and action planning on Sustainability and Climate Action
• Investigate signing up to Zero Carbon School 25-26 Primary School Programme (30.6.25)
• Investigate the Climate Leaders Award

Our commitment:

• Continue with and expand our Eco Club
• Speak out in school on environmental issues and encourage the children to do the same via lessons, assemblies and projects
• Form a closer partnership with parents and external agencies to ensure our green initiatives make the biggest impact possible
• Publish our actions and impact through Eco Champions noticeboard, newsletters and on the school website/ social media platforms
• Educate and seek views from our community
• Ensure our commitment is embedded and not ignored!

 

For further information, please contact Ms E Munro