Sustainability

We are passionate and enthusiastic about the sustainability agenda and want to encourage the whole community to become involved in shaping our future.

We aim to become ethically informed citizens, who tangibly show their commitment to the sustainability of our planet.                      

We are all working together to create a sustainable campus by ensuring our built environment is managed in a way that is sympathetic to our environment and its historic context, meeting the needs of the pupils now as well as those of future generations.

Our Aims

•  To plan and implement practical changes to impact our immediate environment
• To raise awareness amongst our students of the importance of environmental issues
• To educate our students on the environmental agenda
• To play our part in reducing the negative impact of human activity.

Everyone, in whatever role, has an important part to play in contributing to the creation and maintenance of a sustainable campus and to living its values and ambition.

We have been busy developing sustainable solutions to environmental problems – this is what we have done so far…

Reducing Electricity Usage and Waste

• We have an active Eco-committee who meet regularly and represent the whole community
• We undertake energy audits
• We have an EPC for all our buildings
• We have installed lower electric LED lighting around the campus
• We have replaced our diesel van with an electric van for our campus team and are exploring electric vehicle charging points and e bike charging to promote these forms of transport
• We have vetoed single use plastics, refusing to use products that we no longer need, and have created WASP – Wellington against Single Use Plastic and created a logo
• We have dedicated walk and cycle to school days
• Our catering team use locally sourced food wherever possible to reduce our carbon footprint
• Our Eco Committee has signed up to the Big Battery Hunt and will be collecting any used batteries which would otherwise end up in landfill. By collecting AAA, AA, C and D batteries we can recycle them in a safe and secure way
• We also collect and recycle crisp packets, pens, soft plastic, bottle tops, toothpaste tube and other dental products
• We have recycling bins around school and fresh water fountains
• We encourage minimal mileage on all our purchased resources and reuse wherever possible
• We recycle waste paper/card and reuse blank offcuts as scribble pads. We reuse empty paper boxes and then recycle
• Our Canon copiers are leased from https://commercial.co.uk/.  They have a Social Impact Report which also shows their journey towards Carbon Net Zero. We also recycle our toner cartridges and waste toner through them   
• We also use Canon Black Label Zero copy paper https://www.canon-europe.com/press-centre/press-releases/2020/07/canon-and-climate-partner-celebrate-ten-year-partnership/ (Article July 2020), along with MyCopy professional paper with a 100% farmed production of paper cycle, plant – grow – harvest
• Pupils created an eco code
• Created “10 ways to make your Christmas more sustainable” published in the school newsletters.  was in the newsletter
• Eco-committee spoke to sustainable leads from linked organisations
• We have introduced a “Planting not Printing” initiative for brochures and prospectuses
• All our suppliers have their own sustainability programmes
• All cleaning products are green

Regenerating our Environment

• We are re-wilding areas of the campus to support regeneration of nature and student wellbeing and have planted new hedges and trees
• We have a Forest School site in the Blackdown Hills where Prep School children go weekly.  Activities have involved tree and hedge planting, herb and flower planting, bird and bat box making, bug hotel, small pond building and log pile manufacturing for insects. No litter or waste is left at the site
• We have an allotment and a vegetable garden enabling pupils to learn in an outdoor classroom
• We also have a wild pond to encourage biodiversity and created a ramp for the pond to aid frogs and toads
• Our Eco-citizens have been filling our newly constructed planters with soil ready to plant some winter veg  and the many raised beds filled with flowers for bee pollination
• Water stations located across the school site provide clean, fresh drinking water
• We work with Plastic Free North Devon for a beach clean day and we regularly litter picking on campus and in our community, creating a cleaner environment for us all
• We have been awarded the RSPB Gold Schools Award and promote the RSPB Great Garden Birdwatch to increase awareness of the local environment and the changes to wildlife resulting both from climate change and the affects of local development
• Biodiversity - grass areas has been seeded with wildflowers and are cut less frequently
• We have a hive of red mason bees.  Filled nesting tubes are collected and stored until the late summer when they are sent to the Mason Bee project team, who harvest and inspect the cocoons for parasites. Cocoons are then stored over the winter and released in late spring.
• We encourage wildlife, grow our own fruit, veg and herbs which go directly to the school kitchen for lunches
• We create bug hotels, hedgehog homes  and bird boxes, feed the birds, and have 5 bat boxes and a swift nest-cam so we can observe the hatching of the baby swifts
• Ongoing litter picking projects
• We have bought in native butterfly eggs/caterpillars which are kept in habitats so students can observe the life-cycle. Once the pupae are hatched, the butterflies are released in the wildflower meadow
• Our campus team have all been on a bat education course to protect the species on site
• Tree planting day and apple trees donated by Wellington Town Council

Educating our students

It is vital that we education our students about the threat to the environment and ensure these custodians of the future take and maintain a responsible stance. Much of the curriculum is dedicated to environmental awareness  and wherever possible, we weave threads into the classroom and beyond from the very early years.

• Nursery children also attend forest school on a Friday afternoon, and by doing so develop a great feeling of belonging and ownership of their outdoor environment
• Food chains and increasing biodiversity games are played to ensure awareness of the topic at a very young age.Gardening Club and allotment for Years 5 & 6 - We use the space for own wellbeing, art, science
• Climate Change Day for Year 9 run by Climate Educator Paul Turner - a series of activities raising. awareness around climate change., an ongoing topic
• Looking at lichen to understand more about air pollution and carrying out a biodiversity study in the school grounds. The pupils also looked at the role that planting trees may play in mitigating climate change, through measuring their carbon content 
• Designing posters to make people more aware about the role they can play in reducing the rate of climate change
• Health and wellbeing - wellbeing walks with our photo journal of seasonal changes in nature
• Biodiversity - Year 7 & Year 10 Ecosystems topics
• Energy - Year 10 Energy topic
• Food and the environment - GCSE Food topic. A Level food and agriculture topic
• Global citizenship - Year 8 Development topic, Year 9 Brazil topic, GCSE Lagos case study, GCSE Economic, Development topic, A Level Global Systems and Global Governance topic, A Level Mostar case study, Lower School Explorers Club
• Health and wellbeing - A Level Health and wellbeing topic
• Litter and waste - Year 7 environmental quality surveys, Year 10 waste management in Lagos/ Bristol
• School grounds - Year 7 ecosystem in a cup
• Transport - Year 10 Integrated transport in Bristol/ sustainable cities
• Water - GCSE water resources topic

Circular Economy Hub

We are delighted to be in a partnership with the University of Exeter's Centre for Circular Economy. We have collaborated with the faculty in exploring ways in which Wellington can enhance our own approach to sustainability, and play a leading role within our local community.
It was a pleasure to produce this video Our Vision for a Sustainable Future which was shown at the Circular Economy Showcase (https://ce-hub.org/circular-economy-showcase-2022/),  in London.  

 

Transition Town Wellington

• We are part of Taunton Transition Town - a group of individuals from the community working together to meet the twin challenges of Peak Oil and Climate Change- helping to protect the environment and educate the local community
• Hosted the Citizens Somerset Wellington to Taunton Cycle route Stakeholder conference. With input from Wellington Town Council, Transition Town Wellington, local MP Rebecca Pow, we hope to shape the future direction of the project

One Planet. One Chance. One Cup.

Wellington School is the first UK school to introduce a pioneering site-wide sustainability initiative which aims to reduce Wellington’s impact on the environment.

The School,  along with catering supplier Thomas Franks is working with Event Cup Solutions to implement the ONE Planet ONE Chance Reusable Cup System. There are designated collection points throughout the campus to dispose of cups, which means they can be washed and reused in the café.

Wellington’s student-led eco-committee is delighted by this programme, commenting “We are excited to be pioneering the new ONE Planet ONE Chance Reusable Cup System for our cafe - the first school in the UK to do so! The cups will have more than 300 uses, are insulated – keep hot drinks warm, yet cool to touch on outside and are entirely reusable & recyclable. – Win, win! ”

They have produced a short video which has been sent to all the community and used to promote the initiative on social media.  
One Cup System   

The first in many steps along the sustainability road to improve the School’s environmental presence…


COP28 Climate Change Awareness Programme

A fortnight dedicated focus on climate change with a range of expert speakers, activities, events and initiatives, urging students to engage and contribute to the conversation on climate change.

Opportunities for students to make a pledge to act on climate change, take part in activities and learn more about conservation, renewable energy and ethical business.