Bristol
Watch out! Green Finger is about!
Resource Futures is working in partnership with Bristol City Council, Green Path Solutions and Sustainable Redland to help Bristol Primary schools reduce their energy usage. This work is funded by Bristol City Council.
Puppet show launch
Each of the 12 participating schools enjoyed a puppet show to launch the project to the whole school, provided by Puppets and Pandemonium. Pupils were thrilled to meet the super hero Green Finger and his nemesis Energy Crime. The memorable show included humour and information suitable for all ages and was equally popular with 4 and 11 year olds, as well as their teachers. The key messages were why saving energy is so important to help the environment and save money and how everyone can do their bit to help.
Energy audits
The Green Finger project has supported a team of children in each school to conduct an energy audit to find out where energy was being wasted. Some energy teams found overheated classrooms, often with windows open, while others spotted whiteboards, computers and lights that were left on when they were not being used. Having identified examples of 'energy crime' in their school the team started spreading the energy saving message to teachers, pupils, caretakers, cleaners, mid day meal supervisors and anybody else using the school building.
Taking action
Schools have been provided with 3 classroom sessions to support their Green Finger campaign. Activities have been customised to suit each school, including:
Reading the school's meters to monitor energy use- Analysing footprint data from the school's meter to spot unusual usage patterns
- Designing signs and posters to spread the energy-saving message
- Conducting 'spot checks' to see which classes are remembering to save energy
- Running poster-design competitions to get all pupils involved in the campaign
- Delivering assemblies to remind the whole school of Green Finger's message
- Composing energy-saving raps
- Awarding a weekly prize to the class that is working hardest to save energy
In many schools the caretaker has become actively involved in the Green Finger campaign, adjusting the timings of the school's heating controls or changing thermostatic controls to reduce energy usage. At St Peter's Primary in Bishopsworth Year 5/6 pupils examined the school's gas footprint chart (see right) and spotted that the school's gas usage was very high at 3.00am. Further investigations resulted in adjusting the timer so that the school's heating came on 4 hours later!
Rewarding changes in behaviour
The Green Team from Compass Point school (see left) have been conducting regular energy spot checks on classrooms and offices and awarding each room points for energy-saving behaviours. A visit from thier mascot Polo Penguin is the reward for the class with the most points, and the winning class is announced in the school's weekly celebration assembly.
As in many of the Green Finger schools, teachers and pupils at Compass Point also enjoy receiving feedback slips from the Green Team's spot checks, thanking them for their energy-saving efforts (or occasionally reminding them to 'switch off' when leaving the room!)