In one of those, we recycled some old planters, giving them a new purpose of being filled with a variety of flowers donated by our local B&Q as we collaborated with them. We placed these planters around the courtyard in hopes of reminding them of the beauty of nature and serving as a reminder to preserve our environment. Earth Alliance also collaborated with the DT team in creating a planter specially made for the school’s 150th anniversary. The planter turned out wonderful with donated flowers and hanging planters. The planter is placed outside the reception as a show of the school's long and outstanding history and a symbol of how Plymouth High cares for the surrounding area.

 

However, Earth Alliance’s involvement is not strictly on just plants. We take monthly smart meter readings and compare the school’s energy usage and suggest ways to combat this problem.

Collaborating with Derriford hospital allowed us to create a piece of art depicting health by using recycled materials collected from both students and the hospital. We aim to have this finished and set up in either the school or in the hospital.

We are also planning to have an educational litter pick at Derriford this autumn. We have also aimed to spread awareness about our impact and what we can do to help be more sustainable. We did this by presenting to all the years on multiple occasions and on different concerns and topics, such as; Earth Day 2024, World Environment Day and an assembly about updates updated changes to school printing.

PHSG is a pilot school for printing limits within the Trust. Since September, there have been limits on the amount a student is allowed to print depending on what year you are in and subject based. We hope to reduce paper wastage and usage by doing this.

Despite the work done in our school, we also aim to expand the awareness across the whole of the South-west which is why Earth Alliance attends three yearly meetings with other schools in the Trust to discuss ways in which PHSG can improve on, but also listen to the other schools’ ideas on what they will be implementing and allows us to be inspired and collaborate with each other to create a bigger impact of helping our environment.

Not only this, but we have also hosted a summer conference in which we invited a guest speaker, Dr. Dailey from Plymouth University to discuss actions that other schools in the Trust can take to specifically help in reducing a plethora of things such as electricity and energy, but also to exchange ideas that all schools are able to do to improve the schools’ sustainability and perhaps their local area too. We hope that next year, Earth Alliance can continue to grow and suggest changes that can better our environment.

We are delighted to have achieved our goals this year and have gone beyond what we had hoped. We look forward to handing over the torch to the next team, next term. If you are interested in becoming an Earth Alliance Leader, or part of our student group, please come and see us. 

Joelyn and Fay