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Eco School
Yarrells is proud to fly the ‘Green Flag’ for the work we do to protect and conserve the environment, both locally, nationally and internationally. We are an ‘eco-school’, recycling and re-using where possible and always looking to reduce our carbon footprint . We operate car sharing to and from school and encourage the school community to reduce our impact on the environment around us. We regularly take part in beach cleans, recycling drives and the Pupil Parliament is constantly working to canvas the Head to find ways for the school to operate more sustainably. We often have ‘meat-free Mondays’, ‘refuse to use palm oil’ and we regularly raise money for environmental causes.
Ocean Day at Yarrells: A Triumph of Community Spirit and Ocean Conservation
Ocean Day at Yarrells School was a shining example of our vibrant community spirit and collective commitment to raising awareness for ocean conservation. The event was organised by Mrs Sharpe and her Environment Committee, who wanted to take further steps toward spreading knowledge about the importance of caring for our oceans.
Students and staff came together, donning blue clothing or dressing up as creatures from the deep. They were sponsored to swim lengths and widths of our beautiful pool, with the goal of swimming a collective 100 miles—a tribute to Oly Rush, a renowned swimmer and founder of Project Planet, who swam that distance to support ocean conservation. Thanks to the support from our wonderful school community—through sponsorship, participation, and cake donations—we raised an outstanding £3,746.81. The funds are being split equally between Oly Rush’s Project Planet, which will support his global educational initiatives on sustainability, and the development of an Eco-House in our school paddock, offering hands-on experiences for students to explore the environment.
The children were so excited to see Oly Rush who brought in his impressive plesiosaur sculpture, crafted entirely from washed-up plastic found at sea. During a special interview in assembly with our Environment Committee, Oly shared his passion for the ocean, saying, "I am just one person, but one person can do something to make a change, and I wanted to do that." His words were truly motivational.
We were also joined by experts from Poole Harbour Commissioners, who shared insights into sustainable practices in our local area, and Parkstone Fisheries, who taught the children about sustainable fishing practices. Mrs Richmond gave the children the opportunity to work collaboratively and be creative with lots of scrap materials, with some spectacular ocean scenes being created on the field.
In addition to the school event, Mrs Sharpe organised a virtual litter pick for World Ocean Day, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. We received a fantastic selection of photographs from participants across a variety of locations, including Sandbanks, Chapman's Pool, Upton Country Park, Wareham Forest, and even as far afield as the Lake District! It was wonderful to hear that litter picks were even included in birthday celebrations!
Additionally, our Art Club has wrapped up a beautiful project, creating clay tiles of stunning sea life creatures. These textured, low-relief pieces are a true testament to the talent and creativity of our young artists.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed to making Ocean Day a memorable and impactful event. It was truly a celebration of our collective passion for preserving our oceans and the planet.
The Eco Committee
We are really pleased to announce that following our successful fundraising as part of our Eco Day we have been able to adopt several animals to support the work of the World Wildlife Fund.
Children across the school were able to vote for which animal they would like to support.
Animal adoptions support the work of the WWF to stop the destruction of nature and help to recover it.
The lucky winners:
EYFS - Tiger
Years 1 & 2- Snow Leopard
Years 3 & 4 - Panda
Years 5 & 6 - Orangutan
Eco Day 2022
What a wonderful day we had, full of fabulous activities and learning around the environment. The children came dressed in a wonderful array of outfits, and Greta Thunberg, Jane Goodall and Sir David Attenborough were very much around the school. We were very excited to draw the raffle winners and thank Mrs Barchiesi for her generous donation.
The raffle alone raised an impressive £494.58!
We started off the day with an informative assembly from Dorset Waste partnership, talking about what happens to our waste and ways in which we can reduce the amount of waste that we create.
We also had Sarah Wise from DEED leading a workshop in single use plastic and she got us to think about the 5 Rs – Reuse, Refill, Repair, Recharge, Recycle – and changes we can make in our everyday lives. Jack Fazey, who works with all types of wood and ‘keeps ancient crafts alive’ worked with some of the pupils finding out about native trees and what can be created with wood and bark. They made marvellous string using rushes and were buzzing with enthusiasm.
It was so lovely to see Year 4 heading out to identify trees around the site using their identification wheels. Year 3 lead the way with using old milk cartons to create beautiful moths, linked to a book all about the need to protect them. The Year 6s thought about where their food comes from and had the challenge of calculating air miles, which really made them think.
Mr Hill and Mr Hayes explained the composting process that they have at Yarrells and they saw the wormery in action. It was great for the children to understand the importance of composting and hopefully encourage them to talk to you about it at home.
Year 6 also undertook a study for the British Ornithologist Society, boring into the ground to identify invertebrates under the ground to help understand the dwindling bird populations. Mr Hill had the children finding out about the different soil types and engaged them really well; they were all keen to have a go at boring into the ground!
In dance, Squirrels enjoyed dancing to a song called Save our Planet and Year 3 explored creative movement using the themes of Protect our Nature and Revive our Oceans. We talked about how their movements could be written down in storytelling.
I must thank the Eco Committee for their passion and enthusiasm to help organise and inspire us for the learning today.
We will be meeting next week to find out which animals we would like to adopt to support the work of the WWF. We have also raised well beyond what was anticipated, so we will be discussing other environmental concerns that we can support.
I will leave you with a quote that is really very true:
"No one is too small to make a difference"
Greta Thunberg
Ocean Day 2024 Gallery
