Godolphin Environment Week 2022!
Godolphin environment week took place from Monday 10 October - Friday 14 October, with the students involved in activities to showcase the importance of protecting the planet.
This term Exhibition Club and Green Club have created a metal framed dolphin for the community and encouraged us to bring our recycled plastic bottles with the slogan ‘wash it, squash it and fill it’. This was placed in the Lavender Courtyard for students and staff to fill. This shows the devastation that plastic waste has on our oceans and that we must act now to save marine life.
On Tuesday 15 October, Students from Bishop's, St Joseph's, Sarum Academy and Salisbury Cathedral School joined our First and Second Years at a Climate Symposium. The students had a day looking at the Strategic Development Goals from COP21 and COP26 and how these issues are affecting our lives today. We saw how plastics polluting the ocean kills the albatross population in islands thousands of miles from human habitation; and how political decisions in one country to keep prices artificially low prevent cotton farmers in a completely different part of the globe from having a decent standard of living.
The exhibition was a particular highlight with local environment groups talking about reducing car emissions and increasing cycling; to Environmental Snakes and Ladders; from Fair Trade to the importance of whale poo. We would like to add a word of thanks to all the exhibitors who came to share their passion for the environment with us.
Thank you to Chartwells this week who have treated us to sustainable snacks and healthy activities. From mealworm flap jacks to a cycling machine that makes smoothies. Such brilliant ideas showcasing alternative solutions.
A huge success for Mr Pocklington and the science department for organising Inter house energy challenge. Students from each house took part in a 2-minute row to see how many calories they burned which counted towards the overall house scores. 45 calories burned is the equivalent of 188.28KJ created which is the same as using a pedestal fan for about 30 minutes. An insightful way to encourage our students of careful use of electricity.
On Wednesday 12 October and Thursday 13 October, representatives from the Hendy group came to show Senior and Prep pupils the latest electric Leaf and Ariya. Very many thanks to Hendy! They looked so smart and a real upgrade from the previous Environment 6 years ago. We learnt that they can now do 160 or more miles on a single charge and can be charged in 7 hours with a proper charging unit. They may save you £800 a month on petrol costs. The two drawbacks remain: the shortage of charging areas in the country; and what does happen to the batteries once they have died?
On Thursday night, the boarders went with Head Groundsman, Mr Williams, to set a moth trap and to see the diversity of moths which populate this country. Ines writes:
“I really liked the experience of having the chance to touch the moths and I really liked the habitat that we were in and being surrounded by nature. Having the girls around me gave me the confidence to touch the moths and I learned a lot as he explained all about them and their surroundings. Before I didn’t like moths as I thought they were weird animals but after touching them and knowing more about them and their colours, I now really like them.”
Green group organised a quiz in Tutor Time with the winner to be announced shortly.
The week ended with a plant sale by Mrs Llewellin and Ms Willis all to raise funds for Douglas Charity, Alzheimer’s UK. All the plants were propagated and grown by the science technicians and the majority of the pots were recycled and reused. We hope to do more in the future on a semi-regular basis. In total they raised £165.10.
Godolphin environment week took place from Monday 10 October - Friday 14 October, with the students involved in activities to showcase the importance of protecting the planet.
This term Exhibition Club and Green Club have created a metal framed dolphin for the community and encouraged us to bring our recycled plastic bottles with the slogan ‘wash it, squash it and fill it’. This was placed in the Lavender Courtyard for students and staff to fill. This shows the devastation that plastic waste has on our oceans and that we must act now to save marine life.
On Tuesday 15 October, Students from Bishop's, St Joseph's, Sarum Academy and Salisbury Cathedral School joined our First and Second Years at a Climate Symposium. The students had a day looking at the Strategic Development Goals from COP21 and COP26 and how these issues are affecting our lives today. We saw how plastics polluting the ocean kills the albatross population in islands thousands of miles from human habitation; and how political decisions in one country to keep prices artificially low prevent cotton farmers in a completely different part of the globe from having a decent standard of living.
The exhibition was a particular highlight with local environment groups talking about reducing car emissions and increasing cycling; to Environmental Snakes and Ladders; from Fair Trade to the importance of whale poo. We would like to add a word of thanks to all the exhibitors who came to share their passion for the environment with us.
Thank you to Chartwells this week who have treated us to sustainable snacks and healthy activities. From mealworm flap jacks to a cycling machine that makes smoothies. Such brilliant ideas showcasing alternative solutions.
A huge success for Mr Pocklington and the science department for organising Inter house energy challenge. Students from each house took part in a 2-minute row to see how many calories they burned which counted towards the overall house scores. 45 calories burned is the equivalent of 188.28KJ created which is the same as using a pedestal fan for about 30 minutes. An insightful way to encourage our students of careful use of electricity.
On Wednesday 12 October and Thursday 13 October, representatives from the Hendy group came to show Senior and Prep pupils the latest electric Leaf and Ariya. Very many thanks to Hendy! They looked so smart and a real upgrade from the previous Environment 6 years ago. We learnt that they can now do 160 or more miles on a single charge and can be charged in 7 hours with a proper charging unit. They may save you £800 a month on petrol costs. The two drawbacks remain: the shortage of charging areas in the country; and what does happen to the batteries once they have died?
On Thursday night, the boarders went with Head Groundsman, Mr Williams, to set a moth trap and to see the diversity of moths which populate this country. Ines writes:
“I really liked the experience of having the chance to touch the moths and I really liked the habitat that we were in and being surrounded by nature. Having the girls around me gave me the confidence to touch the moths and I learned a lot as he explained all about them and their surroundings. Before I didn’t like moths as I thought they were weird animals but after touching them and knowing more about them and their colours, I now really like them.”
Green group organised a quiz in Tutor Time with the winner to be announced shortly.
The week ended with a plant sale by Mrs Llewellin and Ms Willis all to raise funds for Douglas Charity, Alzheimer’s UK. All the plants were propagated and grown by the science technicians and the majority of the pots were recycled and reused. We hope to do more in the future on a semi-regular basis. In total they raised £165.10.