Growing green: Pocklington School’s sustainability initiatives

Sustainability is high on the agenda at Pocklington School, with initiatives spanning not only the school curriculum but the wider school community.

From cross-curricular projects to student-led initiatives, Pocklington School is taking positive steps, both big and small, to make the school a greener place. Their focus on eco-friendly behaviours extends beyond the classroom including the use of fresh produce and solar energy. They're proud of the progress they're making, and there’s lots more to come.

Pocklington School have introduced various sustainability topics and eco-issues into the curriculum. Second Year pupils, for instance, have undertaken a cross-curricular project on sustainability spanning ICT, art and geography. In art they looked at how graffiti artists use the medium to communicate powerful messages about climate change. In the world of science, biologists have been studying a range of environmental topics including the role of plastic eating bacteria. Even the youngest pupils in Prep School are engaged in the Mind, Body & Soil programme which has weekly sessions focusing on sustainable food production. They tend their own garden patches, grow different crops and cook with their produce. 

Outside of the classroom, the student-led Eco Committee, established in 2019, meets weekly to drive the school’s environmental initiatives. Their efforts have played a crucial role in the school being shortlisted for an Independent Schools Green Award. The committee’s dedicated members have had their hands full with a range of projects, from building bird boxes and bug hotels to transforming an old chest of drawers into a pollinator paradise, promoting biodiversity on school grounds. Recently, the group have also decorated a Christmas tree to highlight the dangers of fast fashion and advocate changing online buying habits. They used vintage fabrics, old clothing and reused waste wood.

Beyond the committee, pupils have all been engaged in numerous green initiatives, from planting trees and producing land art, to embarking on a ‘Do Something Green Challenge’. They have contributed to the online GoGreen magazine to share eco ideas and created an eco-news assembly and board to share the latest positive environmental developments. Some pupils also rescued a hedgehog which prompted others to keep a look out and help hedgehogs in need, which led to a very popular bake sale raising money for the Wolds hedgehog Rescue Centre.

Pupils have also been inspired by events and speakers. They were able to participate in a wildlife club with Ian Andrews, teacher of classics, who implemented a school I-naturalist account to identify and catalogue campus wildlife. In December, pupils joined a symposium with Simon Eggelston and Tony Flavell from Greener Pocklington. They shared developments in scientific research on climate change and enlightened pupils about community initiatives happening in the local area.

Pocklington School are also committed to implementing the environmental changes they teach. The school’s support services, for instance, are making changes to be more energy efficient, including the installation of solar power systems in the theatre and art and design centre, removing non-LED lighting and transitioning from petrol to electric power for ground equipment. Design technicians have also been working on a method to recycle bottles to use in the 3D printers.

Similarly, the school’s catering team focuses on using fresh produce from local suppliers and the campus widely promotes eco-friendly behaviours, such as turning off unused IT equipment and lights, recycling materials and issuing electronic school reports and notices. The school also makes use of eco-friendly cleaning products.

The impact of Pocklington’s sustainability stays with students, as is evidenced by the creation of an environmentally conscious art installation by Old Pocklingtonian, Kai. The installation created a dystopian supermarket focused on the environmental impact of consumerism. It came complete with a website detailing how the planet will be affected if the population consumes unethically.

The Pocklington School Foundation is proud of the strides they have taken to create a greener and more sustainable school. Yet, they recognize that work is not finished and continue to search for more ways to improve.