Sustainability
At St Mary's we are committed to promoting sustainable travel because of the many associated of environmental and health benefits, including a reduction in noise and air pollution. Wherever possible we encourage children to walk, cycle or scoot to school.
Throughout the year, our Eco Council takes part in a number of other initiatives that promote sustainability.
Throughout the year, our Eco Council takes part in a number of other initiatives that promote sustainability.
LATEST NEWS
Climate Action Countdown - 23-27 June 2025
Throughout the week members of St Mary’s Eco Council will take part in various activities as part of Climate Action Countdown 2025, Let's Go Zero's annual climate action challenge. Their campaign is supporting schools to reach zero carbon by 2030.
As well as focusing on their regular activities such as recycling, growing plants, composting and energy checks, children will think about other ways that their actions can contribute towards reducing our carbon dioxide emissions. These challenges will help our classrooms, homes and planet become happier and healthier places to be.
Here are a few activities that children might like to try at home:
Become an ocean activist
Go on an underwater adventure from the safety of your home. Use your home computer to explore our immersive ocean school and find out why, in order to thrive as people, we need an ocean teaming with life!
Watch this short video digitaloceanschool.com then get exploring!
Heavens above! Stargazing
Watching the sunset is a magical activity and you don’t need a telescope to see some constellations!
Begin by watching the sun go down. You can lie down on a blanket or sit down - whatever is comfy. What can you hear? What can you see?
Constellations (groups of stars that look like shapes in the sky) like Orion’s Belt can be seen towards the southwest. Look for three bright stars close together and then two stars to the north and south.
Use this sheet to prepare.
Bathroom Water Blitz
The average person in the UK uses a staggering 140 litres of water EVERY day. Do we really need to use that much?
Could you skip your bath today or share the bath water with a family member?
Think of other ways to save water. Could you take a shorter shower? Do you leave the tap running while brushing your teeth? Do you use a plastic bowl to collect water during the washing up? Or leave the tap running? Do you have any dripping taps around the home? You won’t believe it, but they can waste up to 95 litres in a day!
Become a clean air superhero
Air pollution can affect your brain and mental health which can impact your ability to learn.
Walk, cycle, scoot or take public transport whenever you can instead of driving. Discover the side streets – use quieter streets and avoid main roads. Open windows to let the fresh air in – especially when cooking or cleaning.
Complete this word search and find words about what makes our air clean or dirty.
Energy Town
Could you build and manage a thriving city to ensure a sustainable energy future?
EnergyTown is a city building strategy game where players create and manage their very own city of the future.
Play here: https://www.wonderverselearning.com/play
As well as focusing on their regular activities such as recycling, growing plants, composting and energy checks, children will think about other ways that their actions can contribute towards reducing our carbon dioxide emissions. These challenges will help our classrooms, homes and planet become happier and healthier places to be.
Here are a few activities that children might like to try at home:
Become an ocean activist
Go on an underwater adventure from the safety of your home. Use your home computer to explore our immersive ocean school and find out why, in order to thrive as people, we need an ocean teaming with life!
Watch this short video digitaloceanschool.com then get exploring!
Heavens above! Stargazing
Watching the sunset is a magical activity and you don’t need a telescope to see some constellations!
Begin by watching the sun go down. You can lie down on a blanket or sit down - whatever is comfy. What can you hear? What can you see?
Constellations (groups of stars that look like shapes in the sky) like Orion’s Belt can be seen towards the southwest. Look for three bright stars close together and then two stars to the north and south.
Use this sheet to prepare.
Bathroom Water Blitz
The average person in the UK uses a staggering 140 litres of water EVERY day. Do we really need to use that much?
Could you skip your bath today or share the bath water with a family member?
Think of other ways to save water. Could you take a shorter shower? Do you leave the tap running while brushing your teeth? Do you use a plastic bowl to collect water during the washing up? Or leave the tap running? Do you have any dripping taps around the home? You won’t believe it, but they can waste up to 95 litres in a day!
Become a clean air superhero
Air pollution can affect your brain and mental health which can impact your ability to learn.
Walk, cycle, scoot or take public transport whenever you can instead of driving. Discover the side streets – use quieter streets and avoid main roads. Open windows to let the fresh air in – especially when cooking or cleaning.
Complete this word search and find words about what makes our air clean or dirty.
Energy Town
Could you build and manage a thriving city to ensure a sustainable energy future?
EnergyTown is a city building strategy game where players create and manage their very own city of the future.
Play here: https://www.wonderverselearning.com/play
TfL Gold Travel Award
We are delighted to have been awarded TfL's Gold Award for our work on sustainable travel and inspiring our pupils to travel actively, responsibly and safely (https://travelforlife.tfl.gov.uk/boroughs-partners/lewisham/st-marys-lewisham-church-of-england-primary-school/).
Deputy Mayor of London Councillor Louise Krupski visited St Mary's in December 2024 to present our certificate. We also welcomed Dr Bike who provided a bike safety check to all those children that cycled to school, and awarded a special prize to Olu, the winner of our Bling Your Bike competition!
Deputy Mayor of London Councillor Louise Krupski visited St Mary's in December 2024 to present our certificate. We also welcomed Dr Bike who provided a bike safety check to all those children that cycled to school, and awarded a special prize to Olu, the winner of our Bling Your Bike competition!
Lewisham Pupil Climate Network Meeting - 29 November 2024
Eco Councillors joined pupils from other schools at Stillness Juniors to share what climate action they were taking. They looked at the new garden and took part in a number of activities, including a composting workshop!
Road Safety Week (18-22 November 2024)
We've been taking part in lots of activities to mark Road Safety Week this week. Children in the Nursery have been learning to 'Stop, look and listen', while they hold an adult's hand when they cross the road, as well as enjoying playing with the traffic small world.'
Cut Your Carbon - November 2024
Throughout November, we are encouraging all our families to take part in Cut Your Carbon. Activities include ditching the car, buying nothing new, going plant-based for a day and switching from baths to showers. Children will record their progress on a checklist and our Eco Council will monitor activities to see how well we've done at the end of the month.
Bikeability training (3-7 June 2024)
Children in Years 5 and 6 took part in Bikeability training for five days during June 2024 to help them acquire the practical skills to cycle safely and with confidence on today’s roads.
Level 1 gives children control over their bike and took place in groups in the playground. Level 2 prepared children for short journeys such as cycling to school. Training took place in small groups on quiet, local streets close to the school, giving trainees a real cycling experience.
Training was delivered by Cycle Confident.
Level 1 gives children control over their bike and took place in groups in the playground. Level 2 prepared children for short journeys such as cycling to school. Training took place in small groups on quiet, local streets close to the school, giving trainees a real cycling experience.
Training was delivered by Cycle Confident.
Dr Bike visit - 24 May 2024
On Friday 24 May we had a visit from Dr Bike Lewisham, who held a bike surgery at St Mary's during which he gave our bikes a thorough check. He managed to run a safety check on over 40 bikes! Children and staff were delighted to take home their bikes with working brakes, pumped up tyres and fully functioning gears.
Thank you Dr Bike!
Thank you Dr Bike!