2016/2017 Eco Team
Trip to Total
Some of our Eco members were lucky enough to take a trip to Total this week to find out what they do to be eco-friendly. We saw their hug recycling bins, had a presentation on the best things to do with our rubbish as well as becoming bin detectives and making smoothies using a bike!
Improving Air Quality – Engine Idling Campaign
Recently the school received a letter from Aberdeen City Council with information about a campaign to target unnecessary engine idling around schools. Children are more vulnerable to air pollution because they breathe 50% more air per pound of body weight than adults. More information about this will be coming your way soon and we would like to take this opportunity to say that we will be fully supporting the campaign.
Water consumption figures 2016/2017
The Eco team are delighted to announce that at Charleston School, we have managed to reduce how much water we have used this year! In the school we have tried to raised awareness of the importance of saving water for the benefit of the whole planet (Global Goal 6 – clean water and sanitation). The light blue bars on the graph below show our consumption each quarter this year which is a reduction compared to last year (purple bars). However we still feel that we need to continue working on this and will continue to monitor our progress. Let’s keep up the great work everyone!
One Planet Picnic – Eco Team Competition
The Eco team have been set a competition to up-cycle a jar to reuse at our ‘One Planet Picnic’. Click on the link below for the details…
REMINDER!
Eco members are to bring their up-cycled jar to the Eco meeting on Thursday 25th May to enter the competition! The entries that have been handed in so far are fantastic and I am looking forward to seeing the rest. – Mrs Youngson
Planting our lettuce seeds…
Yum! Yum! I hope they grow so we can have some lovely lettuce in our sandwiches at our picnic.
May Litter Audit
We have completed another audit of the types of litter in the playground. Overall the type of rubbish we found most of were sweetie wrappers. The Eco Team would really appreciate everyone making a huge effort to put their litter in a bin/pocket until you find a bin so we can reduce the amount of sweetie wrappers found. Thanks!
Recording litter that was found using tally marks…
‘Let’s look in here!’
‘Here’s a piece!’
The results of our audit…
Cove Clean-up!
Please help us to keep Cove clean and tidy by participating in the Cove Clean-up. It is on Saturday 29th April between 10 – 12 noon, meeting at Loirston School. There will be refreshments provided by Greggs (yum, yum!).
Primary 1 are promoting the Cove Clean-up as their Eco target this year because we are keen for the children to take care of the wider community as well the school environment. They would really appreciate you coming along to support this event!
Water Target
One of our Eco targets this year is to try and reduce the amount of water we use in the school. We would also like you to think about ways you can save water at home. The Eco team came up with the list below…

Check the taps are turned off!
Tips for Saving Water
- Turn off your garden hose properly once you are finished
- Turn off taps properly once you are finished
- Don’t put too much water in your bath
- Make sure taps are not dripping
- Drink water from the taps rather than shop-bought water
- Only take the amount of water you need and don’t throw out the rest
- Remember to turn the hose off after you have washed your car
- If you have the option, put your shower on low power mode
February Litter Audit
The Litter Picking Pupil Participation Group carried out their latest litter audit and found that it was mostly sweet wrappers that were found. These results can also be found on our Eco wall. Please remember to put your litter in the bin or your pocket at break and lunch, especially sweet wrappers, as we would like to see these numbers decrease next time.

February Litter Audit results

It was mostly sweet wrappers that were found during the audit
An Eco-Friendly Christmas!!!
Aberdeen City Council have provided us with a leaflet that has facts and ideas on how to have a more eco-friendly Christmas. The Eco team have had a look at it during our last meeting and there are some great ideas! Why don’t you have a look and start getting creative?! Just click on the link below:
twelve_days_of_christmas-low-res-pdf
The Start of a New Session
So far this year, the Eco Team have been very busy organising our Environmental Review which each class took part in. From the Review we chose the areas of Eco we wanted to work on this year. Each class have taken responsibility for a target to work on which make up our action plans. The action plan targets are displayed on the Eco board for everyone to see and we hope to be successful in renewing our Green Flag status this year!
2015/2016
Spring has Sprung!
The efforts of the classes who planted the bulbs have definitely paid off with a fantastic display of spring flowers!
Earth Hour
WWF’s Earth Hour is happening on Saturday 19th March between 8:30 – 9:30pm. During this hour people switch off their lights to show that they care for the future of the planet. If you would like to participate in Earth Hour, click on the link below.
www.wwfscotland.org.uk/earthhour
If you do take part, please let Mrs Youngson or Mrs Milne know as we would love to hear about it!
P4’s Outdoor Learning
One of Primary 4’s Eco targets this year is to make use of the school grounds as an environment for learning. Today they decided to go outside to measure things as they are learning about measurement for topic maths this term. First they had to record their estimates in a table then carry out the measuring with metre sticks so they could compare the estimates with the actual sizes.
P2 look after the birds
Primary 2 took part in the Big Schools Bird Watch. They saw a magpie, a starling, some blackbirds and lots of seagulls! To help the birds, they decided to make them bird feeders.
Spring is on it’s way!
Some of the bulbs that were planted by classes in the Winter are beginning to come through. We should have some flowers soon!
Bulb Planting
Some of the classes in the school chose to plant bulbs as a way of improving our school grounds. Last term P7 went to Duthie Park to learn how to plant bulbs properly.