Godwin Junior School

Environmental Education

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At Godwin Junior School, part of our School Vision is to develop responsible, informed and compassionate global citizens who are equipped to contribute to the world positively. Our intention is to empower children to deepen their understanding of environmental issues at local, national and global levels and about the actions that each of us can take in order to help address these. This links directly to UNCRC Article 24 and Sustainable Development Goals 6, 12, 13, 14 and 15.

 

We aim to promote the Learning Power of Curiosity and an awareness of these issues through the curriculum and school culture. In doing so, we prepare pupils for lifelong success as confident, articulate and active members of society, who understand the interconnectedness of our world and their role within it.

 

Our integrated curriculum provides opportunities to explore environmental themes across a range of subjects, deepening pupils' understanding and supporting them to become confident in using the related vocabulary. Through teaching, research and discussion, our children explore issues - examining the causes and impact. One example of how environmental awareness is interwoven in our curriculum is that Year 4 children write letters to food manufacturers to persuade them to remove palm oil from products, highlighting the devastating effect on habitats in the production of this foodstuff.

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Our annual Raised Voices speech writing competition provides a platform for children to express themselves about issues which they feel passionately about; environmental matters featured prominently in this year's entries. Please click on the images below to hear Godwin children's perspective  - UNCRC Articles 12 and 13.

Year 3

Year 3

Year 4 

Year 4

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

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In response to World Environment Day in 2024, our pupils felt the need to have a positive

impact on the planet. In keeping with the theme of, "Our Land, Our Future. We are

#GenerationRestoration," they decided that they wanted to plant trees in order to help

mitigate the impact of climate change, help to combat air pollution and reduce the

school's carbon footprint. Through a collaboration with world-leading forest makers,

Sugi, our pupils planted a pocket forest of 1200 trees on the school grounds

Click here for more information about our installation.

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Following on from this, in the summer of 2024, we worked with Repowering London

to install solar panels on the school roof in order to increase the school's sustainability

and reduce our environmental impact.

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​​​​                                                                                                                             Weekly gardening lessons for Year 3 and Year 4                                                                                                                                   pupils are delivered by our specialist gardening                                                                                                                                     tutor in our school garden and inside our                                                                                                                                               classroom greenhouse during inclement weather.                                                                                                                                 These sessions are well-resourced and                                                                                                                                                 demonstrate our commitment to educating our                                                                                                                                        children about environmental issues, including                                                                                                                                      discussions about climate change and the                                                                                                                                            importance of water, soil, and drainage.                                                                                                                                                Through these practical experiences, our children                                                                                                                                develop an understanding of considerations such                                                                                                                                  as the need to harvest rainwater, propagate                                                                                                                                          drought-friendly plant species that can tolerate our                                                                                                                                changing climate and create compost to help                                                                                                                                        naturally mulch and protect the soil. We aim that                                                                                                                                  through careful planning, the seasonal edible as                                                                                                                                    well as in cookery lessons and any excess can be                                                                                                                                sold to our local community in order to invest                                                                                                                                        further in to developing our school garden.

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Our link with The Woodland Trust has seen us plant 30 hedgerow saplings at the front

of our school, including dog rose, dogwood, crab-apple, hawthorn, and hazel. This

continues to support pollinators, biodiversity and wildlife habitats, give us a yield of

fruits and nuts for herbal projects and we aim that it will in time create a 'green wall' to

help combat pollution from nearby roads.

With the help of the Tree Council's Orchards for Schools programme, we have

planted a number of native trees, including apple, cherry, plum, and pear; our pupils

eagerly await these bearing fruit! Click here to find out more about our Young Tree

Champions!

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