Our Waste Education Project has worked with schools across Devon since 2008, engaging more than 150,000 pupils since it began.
The project supports Devon County Council’s strategy to support schools and equip children with behaviour, skills and knowledge for a more sustainable future. The project aims to:
- Develop and deliver workshops, assemblies and resources about waste reduction, reuse and recycling
- Work intensively with schools to reduce their waste and enable them to recycle and compost more waste
- Spread the message to parents and carers beyond the school gates using take-home letters and activities, as well as community events
- Train and support teachers to deliver waste education messages
- Support schools to compost food waste on site and use composting as a teaching resource within the curriculum
- Facilitate school trips to waste management facilities
In the 2023-24 academic year our Waste Education team:
- Visited over 86 schools, working with nearly 8,500 pupils;
- 95% of pupils ‘really enjoyed’ the experience, with 99% of teachers rating their class’s input as ‘excellent’ or ‘good’;
- Ran the ‘War on Waste’ (WOW) project, working with schools on integrated approaches to waste and re-use;
- Conducted teacher training in partnership with other organisations (including the National Trust, Let’s Go Zero, The Climate Ambassadors at the MET Office, Field Studies Council and Devon Wildlife Trust) to educate teachers further about waste, climate action plans and school activities to raise awareness and help them become more sustainable;
- Supported the Network of Environmental Educators Devon (NEED), undertaking a project funded by Devon Climate Emergency to assist schools in Devon in writing and implementing Climate Action Plans in the move towards Net Zero.
The Devon waste education programme is funded by Devon County Council and is managed by Resource Futures staff.
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