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Schools save money with teachers' climate change toolkit
21 October 2008 - A two-year project to deliver a teachers'
toolkit on reducing energy and waste has been completed.
Funded by the Local Strategic Partnership and delivered by
Harrogate Borough Council's Environmental Strategy Unit, the aim is
to get schools to commit to reducing their energy and waste by 10
per cent.
Councillor Richard Cooper, Harrogate Council's Cabinet Member
for the Environment says that the project completion is timely as
from 1 October each school in England and Wales has to have
'Display Energy Certificates'. He
said: "More than half the district's primary
schools have used the toolkit so far. There are
now six lesson plans together with procedure notes and work sheets
that explain climate change and actions that the children can take
to reduce their carbon emissions. We have
produced all of this on a CDRom, which will be sent to every
primary school. The schools can then borrow
interactive equipment that brings the toolkit alive with working
examples of renewable energy generation, models and
experiments.
"Bishop Monkton Church of England Primary School was one of
the first schools to use the toolkit and it saved 20 per cent on
its 2007 electricity bills compared to 2006.
This was achieved by the pupils undertaking an energy audit of the
school and deciding on 10 simple energy saving actions that every
member of the school agreed to abide by."
The project also helped Pannal Primary School to raise funding
for a wind-turbine making it the first primary school in the county
to install this green technology. Money that is
saved will be ploughed back in to school to benefit children's
education.
The toolkit is available on line at
http://www.harrogate.gov.uk/harrogate-236
ENDS
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Councillor Richard Cooper is available for comment on 07792
655535. Further technical information is
available from Debi Rowe, Acting Head of Environment on 01423
556845.