Help children become environmental change makers with the Eco-Schools programme

Children are never too young to learn about their planet and how to protect it.

That’s why the Eco-Schools programme has changed to help more nurseries across the country drive environmental action in their local community all while working towards the international Eco-Schools Green Flag.

Over the past year the national Eco-Schools team at Keep Britain Tidy have taken the opportunity to consider how Eco-Schools needs to adapt to support the growing number of nurseries joining the programme and help young children understand environmental themes.

From September the Eco-Schools Green Flag has become an annual accreditation that is renewed each academic year, with an application window in the summer term.

This change will allow all participating nurseries and nursery chains to work concurrently through the international Seven Step framework to achieve the Eco-Schools Green Flag award.

The annual pathway means that the national Eco-Schools team can also provide age-specific targeted advice and ideas to help nurseries address potentially complex environmental issues with young children and their families.

Our new online Eco-Schools Green Flag application will also provide preschool settings with over 100 impactful ideas to reduce their ecological footprint, make financial savings and increase cognitive skills.

Moving to an annual accreditation will also allow the national Eco-Schools team to highlight the collective impact on a global scale that all Eco-Schools from pre-school to college have made.

To find out more about how your nursery can get involved head over to the national Eco-Schools England website where you will be able to register for free with the programme.

Once registered your nursery will have access to lots of resources suitable for inquisitive young minds, including bright and bold cartoons with fun characters to explain each of the Seven Steps.

Our website also provides you with exciting eco-case study examples from other nurseries and has several Eco-Projects to help kickstart your Eco-Schools journey such as Mindfulness Minutes and Learning About Forests, all of which have bespoke Early Years Guides created with the support of existing pre school Eco-Schools.

Tackling the climate emergency can seem like a daunting challenge especially if you are not a subject specialist and when working with very young children.

Through the Eco-Schools programme you will be provided with the resources and confidence needed to help children become environmental change makers.

We support everyone who wants to make a difference, no matter how small. All of us working together have a big impact.

Remember there are over 59,000 registered Eco-Schools globally, together we are ensuring the next generation currently in your nursery inherit a healthy world.

Find out more at eco-schools.org.uk.