Environmental Science Parliament Visit
GCSE Environmental Science Students Invited to Parliament to Speak to Politicians
On Tuesday 15th November 2011 Molly Garood, Jack Hare, John Simister and Adnan Dehayni, all GCSE Environmental Science students, had the opportunity to talk to politicians about Dorothy Stringer School and what it means to be a Green Flag Eco-School. The students were invited to take part in the Local Environmental Quality All Party Parliamentary Group meeting titled Eco-Schools - leading sustainable change throughout English communities which was held in one of the dining rooms in the Houses of Parliment.
We filled the walls with photos of things we have been doing at Stringer for everyone to see. We were welcomed by Anne McIntosh MP who is the chairman of the group. The meeting was opened by Lord Taylor of Holbeach, Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Defra, who told us how the present government intends to be the greenest yet and how it was important that the next generation needs to be taught how to lead a more sustainable lifestyle. Phil Barton, Chief Executive, Keep Britain Tidy talked about the successes of the Eco Schools project and his concerns about the government's proposals to cut the Feed-in-tariffs which may jeopardise many solar projects.
Then it was our turn. Molly, Jack, John and Adnan talked about the many different environmental projects we do at Stringer and how they enjoy being part of the school. They spoke clearly and confidently to an attentive crowd and were great ambassadors for our school. Mr Sandercock then had a little rant and told the politicians that they needed to be the ones leading by example not relinquishing responsibility by thinking that teaching the next generation is all that is needed.
We were followed by Rebecca Hill, Eco-Schools Officer, Wigan Council who gave a perspective from a council level. Wigan has the second highest number of schools signed up to the Eco Schools Programme. Caroline Lucas MP then spoke passionately about Eco-Schools and again called for more thought to be given to the proposed changes to the Feed-in-Tariffs and the impact this is having on a new and growing industry.
Anne McIntosh MP thanked us all for our contributions and then said that somewhere in France they had made nuclear power a renewable resource. Many of us were surprised by this comment for various reasons, we’ll leave you to find out if that is true and draw your own conclusions.
After the formal part of the session various people from Keep Britain Tidy, Politicians and other environmental groups asked us questions. The students got to talk to Caroline Lucas and then we visited the viewing gallery of the house of commons and watch part of the debate on fuel prices. Very interesting!
Rob Sandercock | Sustainability Coordinator