The Durham Federation

In light of the declared County Durham Climate Emergency, at the end of the summer term, The Durham Federation ran a fantastic, bespoke climate change curriculum, organised by Miss Nesbitt (Geography Teacher). It focused on teaching pupils about the causes of climate change and ways in which, as a school, they could reduce their emissions. With cross-curricular links, the pupils enjoyed a wealth of learning including: – Learning about food miles in Maths and Food Tech; how could food be locally sourced for the school canteen? – Exploring the language of protest in English and Music – Creating murals out of recycled waste in Art – Carrying out a community litter pick in the local area; 15 bin bags full of rubbish were collected! Miss Nesbitt also set up a school environmental group. They have begun making exciting changes within the school including carrying out an electricity use audit and sharing their findings with teaching staff, setting up a school allotment and garden, linking with local enterprises and planting more trees in the school’s grounds. In the winter term, the group hope to create Christmas wrapping paper from recycled paper and shampoo and conditioner bars to encourage staff to move away from single use plastic at home.