Impington Village College and its students have been recognised for their commitment to environmental stewardship and have been awarded the Eco-Schools Green Flag. The flag is presented to schools that display a commitment to using less energy, cutting their carbon footprint, reducing their waste, and making their extended communities greener and healthier places.
A number of the college’s students are passionate about combatting climate change and, last year, formed a student led ‘eco-committee’ to implement new energy saving and carbon cutting practices at the college. Some of the initiatives introduced by the committee include:
- No Mow May – areas of the college grounds were left un-mown for a month to encourage greater biodiversity and to lock atmospheric carbon below ground.
- Energy reduction scheme – measures were introduced to encourage teachers and students to switch off lights and to unplug laptop and appliance power supplies when not in use.
- Wildflower planting – members of the committee participated in extensive wildflower planting in dedicated areas within the college grounds to increase biodiversity.
- Litter picking – students take part in regular litter picking around the college grounds to support and protect fauna and flora.
- Enhancing their understanding – the committee visited Thalia Waste Management Centre in Waterbeach to learn more about different recycling practices. Upon their return to the college, the committee presented their learnings at a staff briefing and the college subsequently introduced waste and energy consumption reduction measures.
Year 10 student and eco-committee member, Merryn, said: “In the last year, the Impington Village College Eco-Committee has been working hard to make the college an eco-school.
“We have improved three main areas of our college to do this – biodiversity, energy, and waste – and have managed to achieve an Eco-Schools Green Flag status.
“This means that students are working together to make our school a more environmentally friendly place. “
“We have planted wildflowers, participated, and advertised No-Mow May, used Count Your Carbon to find our school’s carbon footprint, helped with second-hand uniform sales and litter picks, and so much more.
“We are very proud of all that we have achieved, and we hope to continue working to improve our college’s sustainability even further.”
Speaking on the committee’s future plans, Year 11 student, Tom, said: “We, as an eco-committee, have achieved so much in the last year.
“However, we have more plans for the rest of the academic year and beyond.
“We have been working to welcome local Green Party member Kathryn Fisher to the school to give a talk on the environment and shed light on her stance on environmental issues facing the world.
“We will begin working with our design and technology team to build a Zen Garden near our library for a peaceful place to enjoy the outdoors.
“We will also be continuing with the Count your Carbon scheme started by our energy team last academic year. The future looks bright.”
A college spokesperson said: “Students at the college develop a natural desire to support their local, national, and international communities through studying the International Baccalaureate (IB).
“Each of its Year 7 – 9 students follow the IB Middle Years Programme, which encourages them to be active members in their communities and become architects of positive change through community projects.
“Those particularly passionate about protecting the environment can then continue their IB studies at the Sixth Form, Impington International College, where, as one of their six subject options, they can study Environmental Systems and Societies (ESS). ESS combines science and societal studies to engage students in environmental issues.
“This term, ESS students have been using infrared cameras to monitor and report upon the local badger, fox, and muntjac population.
Victoria Hearn, executive headteacher at Impington Village College and Impington International College, said: “I am so proud of our students for their commitment to sustainability and for their impact in reducing the college’s carbon footprint.
“We are passionate about delivering an education beyond academic knowledge and it is pleasing to witness our students embracing and enhancing our commitment to improving our community.
“COP29 will gather world leaders to discuss the climate issues impacting us all and I hope that they will be aware of just how important protecting our planet is to students like ours.”
To learn more about Impington Village College, visit: https://ivc.tela.org.uk/, or to learn more about Impington International College, visit: https://www.impingtoninternational.org.uk/
