Geography Fieldwork 20.06.2022
This week, Y6 carried out some geography fieldwork on the school grounds with a very important mission – to help make Farsley Springbank more sustainable. To begin with, the children explored the meaning of sustainability, focusing on energy, food, waste and water. They then researched and discussed ways in which people can be sustainable in these areas. Following this, the children then explored what a sustainable city in the future might look like using a very cool page on the National Geographic website. They then found out which cities in the UK are the most sustainable and located them on a map of the UK.
With all this new knowledge, they started to think about if Springbank is sustainable. It was then time to carry out their fieldwork on the school grounds using a map of the school interior and exterior. They found that Springbank had many sustainable features such as: censored lights and taps, paper recycling and solar panels on the new building – something that they were really impressed with. From exploring the school building and grounds, the children also identified areas where they felt the school could become even more sustainable. With these thoughts in mind, they then explored the work of other local schools noted for their sustainability for ideas and inspiration. From all of this, they worked in groups to come up with their top ideas and then voted for the ones they felt were the most important to bring to Miss Percival. A group of children then represented Year 6 and presented their ideas to Miss Percival. The Year 6 ideas were:
- More use of the outdoor classroom to save energy in the building and to use the outdoor classroom at lunchtimes for children do mindful colouring in (which was put into action straight away!). The children also wanted to get the roof fixed as it leaks when it rains but Miss P is already onto this issue and it will be fixed soon!
- The introduction of energy monitors in each class to ensure lights aren't on if it is a bright day (like this week!) and Year 6 energy monitors to ensure lights and computers are off in communal areas when they are not in use or not needed.
- Baskets in each classroom for compost waste and a bin in the playground for compost waste. Alongside this, the introduction of compost monitors to collect food waste for compost to send to Mrs Fletcher for use in the garden.
- The introduction of weekly litter pickers to clear the outside areas of litter.
All the ideas were welcomed by Miss Percival and it was amazing to see Year 6 accessing their ‘right to be heard’ and enacting these positive changes as part of their legacy as they complete their Springbank journey.
