School leads way to spread eco messages (From The Northern Echo)

School leads way to spread eco messages

2:17pm Wednesday 4th June 2008

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"WE know people can do something, but they think: What on earth can I do by myself?' It's really annoying - and distressing."

Pippa Hobbs may be only ten, but she is a fully-fledged eco-warrior.

Sitting in the new Sustainability Centre at her school, Cassop Primary, near Durham City, her frustration with apathetic adults is obvious.

"You could start by doing small things like turning lights off when you're not using them or turning off the computer - and not leaving things on standby," she said.

"You could walk, rather than take the car."

Pippa's belief that small steps can make a big difference in the battle against climate change is supported by classmate Liam Higgins.

"By the time I'm 50 there are going to be nine billion people on the planet," the 11- year-old said. "If we start acting straight away, we'll reduce our carbon footprint now.

"It doesn't have to be big fancy gadgets. Start with the lights and reducing the water you use. Then, like us, you could get a wind turbine and solar panels."

The "us" is Liam's school.

Cassop primary has built up an international reputation for environmentally-friendly innovation.

Last year, it was named the greenest school in the country at the National Teaching Awards.

A national newspaper was moved to explore "How one small school changed the world". Cassop was also mentioned on BBC's Have I Got News For You? comedy show.

Headteacher Jim McManners, who has duly been declared the greenest teacher in the country, gets requests for information and advice nearly every day.

"It's only limited by the amount of time I can give it,"

he said.

At Cassop, the environment has been a priority for more than 30 years, although a dramatic change was made about ten years ago when it became the first school in the country to get a wind turbine.

At 18.5 metres, the turbine towers above the classrooms, generating 50 kilowatts an hour - saving the equivalent of 50 balloon-fulls of carbon dioxide from being pumped into the atmosphere.

Solar panels and a biomass boiler have followed.

And last month, Schools Minister Kevin Brennan opened the Sustainability Centre, an eco-classroom which will allow children from across the North-East to benefit from Cassop's environmental expertise.

The school is located between the villages of Cassop and Quarrington Hill, five miles south-east of Durham City. It was opened in 1912 by, as a plaque in the lobby records, Councillor T Foster, of the County Durham Education Committee.

There is also a replica of the National Union of Mineworkers' East Hetton lodge banner as a reminder of the area's mining past.

In the main hall is a tapestry created by pupils and artist Joan Van-Hove celebrating the 900th anniversary of Durham Cathedral.

For all this history, this is a very modern and forwardthinking school.

At the front door, a sign asks: "Have you recycled today?" Adjacent to the tapestry, a wall display explains the workings of a wind turbine, which is visible through the window.

The NUM banner bears an illustration of the Good Samaritan and the instruction: "Go Thou And Do Likewise."

It is an evangelical message the youngsters have embraced.

Liam and Pippa are part of the Green Team, a sevenstrong squad responsible for checking lights are turned off and the right waste goes in the right bin. Team members show visitors around and often represent Cassop at various relevant events.

Last year, they gave a theatrical lecture to the Royal Geographic Society, in London.

In April, they gave a presentation to Durham County Council.

"There's no shortage of interest in climate change," Mr McManners said. "The children are interested in anything to do with the environment or gardening.

"I find that contrary to what some people would have us believe, children are not only interested in electronic gadgets - they're interested in the world around them.

"A place on the green team is one of the most coveted jobs in school."

Pippa said: "I thought it might be interesting to join the Green Team because my brother was on it and he really enjoyed it. I've really enjoyed it too."

"It's really fun," fellow team member, nine-year-old Olivia Smith, said. "We find out more about how we can save the world."

But, crucially, the Green Team's enthusiasm does not wither outside the school gates.

"I told my mam I was going to start turning lights off when we weren't using them, and turning off the hairdryer,"

Elise Mitchell, 11, said.

"She said that would be hard. But I saw the TV was on standby and turned it off, and she said: You're good, aren't you?' Now she turns things off because of what I did."

Ten-year-old Daniel Bates said: "I bugged my mam to start recycling. Two months later we got a recycling bag and we started putting things in it."

"We try to tie-in sustainability to an enjoyable environment,"

Mr McManners said. "Step one is to get people interested in their own environment.

The reason people throw litter away, for example, is because they are lazy, but also because it never crosses their mind that they're spoiling anything.

"Once you get people interested, they realise there are issues about how we sustain it - and we have a duty to show them a route by which they can do something."

"We can all do something,"

Elise said. "We're just trying to make people understand."

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