BSB EcoAction Team joined forces to save our Planet

Over the last few months, our students have been working tirelessly with our local community, to create something really special. Primary and Secondary ASAs have joined force to create the EcoAction group. This is a combination of Primary’s Roots & Shoots ASA and Secondary’s EcoClub ASA. Our goal is to guide the school and our community into the awareness and action needed to fix some of the problems society has created on our planet.

Roots & Shoots is an organisation established by Dr Jane Goodall – a ground breaking scientist who was the first to bridge the intelligence and social similarities between chimpanzees and ourselves. Roots & Shoots’ goal is to bring together young people from pre-school to university age to work on environmental, conservation and humanitarian issues. The organisation is established in over 140 countries with over 8,000 local groups worldwide that involve nearly 150,000 young people. Participants work together to identify and work on problems in their own communities affecting people, animals, or the environment. Charity Navigator, has awarded Roots & Shoots and its parent non-profit organisation, the Jane Goodall Institute, its highest 4 star rating for accountability and transparency with 78.1% of its expenses going directly to programs – something BSB, Shunyi is very proud to be part of.

Teaming up with the already established EcoClub in the Secondary school with Ms Thompson, Assistant Head of Science and Mr Twinney, Design & Technology Teacher, has meant we can pool our resources and work to a common goal; our focus this time? A community provided greenhouse created from wood, bamboo and plastic bottles – bottles that would otherwise been thrown away and possibly ended up in our oceans. This will provide a reminder of the burden plastic is and has put on our planet as well as a place to actively make use of the material by growing plants for the school, Science department and extended education into aeroponic systems and renewal energy sources.

A 4 day-per-week ASA, 5 teachers, 1 D&T room, 50 Year 4 to 8 students, 2,000 bottles and 380 bamboo sticks later, our greenhouse is almost complete. With the grand opening set for the end of the school year, we’d especially like to thank the Parents’ Association, teachers and students in making this project possible. Here’s to the school enjoying and remembering its reason for being here, for generations to come.

After the Greenhouse is built, the Secondary EcoClub ASA plans to design and build hydroponics system out of recycled materials using solar panels as a power source for a water pump in a self-watering, soil-free growing system.  This will allow students to take part in STEAM based activities but will also raise awareness of the difficulties and challenges faced by local farmers and how climate change could make this process even more difficult and impact the poorest in our society.

Mr. Richard Burkhill, Year 6 Teacher

Ms. Lucy Thompson, Assistant Head of Science