News and Events
Eco Hub News May 2022
We have had a very busy term this year. We have been lucky enough to receive funding from The National Lottery, Lewes County Council and Viridor. This has enormously helped the school to purchase recycled plastic picnic benches for the students to enjoy. We have also brought a bird table and a wildlife capture camera . This has proved very popular indeed and the birds are positively swarming onto it! Our next projects include a chalk bank for encouraging butterflies and a moth trap to identify what moths visit the KAR site.
We also had a very successful pond digging day where students, parents and staff cleared lots of weeds and planted native plants and flowers. We are hoping the frogs and pond skaters will find the pond and make it their home.
Our blue hearts are up for ‘No Mow May’ so we have left a strip of grass at the front of the school with a few wildflower seeds mixed in to see what comes up!
This term also marks the end of Mrs Holmes’s job as the Environmental Project Manager. She has raised over £8500 for the Eco Hub and along with Ms Pillar has rejuvenated the school's Eco area! We wish her well in her new role.
Eco club is every Monday lunchtime Week B- everyone is welcome.
More Funding!
We have been lucky enough to have received funding from the charity organisation Viridor. We are hoping to spend it building a butterfly bank, installing bird and bat boxes and creating biodiversity the Eco area.
Viridor Credits Environmental Company is an independent, not-for-profit organisation which provides funding for community, heritage and biodiversity projects around the UK through the Landfill Communities Fund and Scottish Landfill Communities Fund. www.viridor-credits.co.uk/about
Pond Digging Day!
A fun filled productive day was enjoyed by all on Saturday 23rd April. A host of students , parents and teachers came along to help. We managed to clear all the raised beds and cover them with weed suppressant. We also managed to dig a hole big enough for our wildlife pond- a huge effort! A massive thanks to everyone who came and helped.
The National Lottery Community Grant
Breaking news!
We have won a grant over over £5000 to spend in our Eco area. We are going to spend the money on picnic benches, bat/bird boxes, hedgehog houses, planting schemes , as well as an outdoor cinema and waterproof beanbags. If anyone has any ideas they would like to put on our Eco wish-list then talk to Mrs Holmes or Ms Pillar.
Bird table and the wildlife camera
With our national lottery money we have brought a bird table and some food for our fine feathered friends. Our wildlife capture camera now has it's beady lens ready to film whoever turns up!
Just One Tree Day
On Friday 22nd October our school is took part in #JustOneTreeDay, we raised £177!! Every £1 plants a tree in vulnerable woodlands and forests around the world this just shows that “No-one is too small to make a difference!” For more information visit the website: www.justonetree.life #justonetreeday
Past Events
'A Band of Brothers' Eco Day
On Saturday 16th October 2021, King’s Academy Ringmer hosted local charity, 'A Band of Brothers' to support their ‘Quest for Community’ outreach project, through which volunteers participate in community projects with a nature based focus. A team of volunteers and students spent the day clearing the Eco Hub site of overgrown weeds and shrubbery. We managed to clear all four of our raised beds making lots of room for a new herb garden and pollinating plants like lavender. A big thank you to ABOB and Lil, Tabitha, Carmel, Billy and Charlie for getting stuck in! Now the conservation work can really begin! Interested in helping out? Come along on a Friday lunchtime to find out more.
Surfers Against Sewage
On Friday 12th November the Eco Reps went around the school gathering plastic bottles and single use plastic items to do a plastic survey. Here at KAR we are working with the fantastic organisation www.sas.org.uk/
We want to know how much plastic we use in a single lunchtime and how we can reduce this. We will keep you posted on the results!
Past Events - Enrichment Week 2020
In July, during enrichment week, we had great fun with OVESCO investigating lots of green technologies including a bike powered high striker. Mr Taylor generated enough electricity to boil a kettle! We got creative planning improvements to our green spaces, made bug hotels and bird feeders from plastic bottles we had collected and brainstormed how as a school community we can help educate people about environmental issues important to us - all whilst having lots of fun!
Happy New Year! Time for new beginnings, new resolutions and new ambitions. Many of us have found a greater appreciation for nature during the pandemic and, coupled with the climate and biodiversity crisis, the time has never been better to take action for the environment. Whether you’re testing the water with a small commitment or ready to make a big change, here are 10 ways to do your bit for nature in 2022. www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2021/12/10-eco-friendly-new-years-resolutions/
The Woodland Trust & The Tree Council
We have been lucky enough to have been given a large number of trees by the Woodland Trust and The Tree Council. These include a variety of native species for the hedgerow including hazel, dog roses and hawthorn. We are planting a small orchard with apple trees and crab apples to promote pollinators onto the site. The Eco Reps have been busy planting all these wonderful trees for the school to enjoy for many years to come.