Long Eaton pupils are eco ambassadors
Flying the flag: Councillor John Allsop, Derbyshire County Council's Cabinet Member for Recycling and Technology, centre, with students from left, Joe Bird (15), Daisy Kelsey (16), Zoe Hart (16), Molly Elliott (16), Harriet Redfearn (16) and Katie Davidson (16).
A Derbyshire secondary school has become a flagship for environmental protection after claiming yet another international eco-award.
The Long Eaton School is the first secondary school in the Midlands to be awarded Green Flag Ambassador status through the eco-school scheme, supported by us.
And it's the sixth environmental accolade in a row for the Thoresby Road school which has already been awarded the prestigious green flag three times since it began working towards the scheme.
Now this latest award recognises the continued efforts of staff and pupils and their willingness to support and share information and advice with other schools.
Councillor John Allsop, cabinet member for technology and recycling, said: "This is a fantastic achievement for pupils and staff at The Long Eaton School.
"More than 320 Derbyshire schools are signed up to the eco-schools scheme and all are doing fantastic work - but The Long Eaton School really is leading the field."Looking after the environment is at the heart of everything they do.
"They're fantastic environmental ambassadors for Derbyshire and have a lot of knowledge and experience to offer others looking to make a difference in their communities."
Over the past 14 years, the school has been involved in a number of projects aimed at protecting the planet. Pupils:
Set up an eco-committee made-up of pupils of all ages to lead the school's environmental efforts such as collecting rainwater to flush the school's toilets and encouraging classmates to cycle to school instead of making car journeys
Won East Midlands Healthy School of the Year for a project to grow their own vegetables in the school grounds for use in school dinners
Raised cash to fund environmental work in India and Africa
Won the National Association of School Business Management Eco School of the Year 2011
Won joint first prize for Erewash Best School Garden 2011
More recently the school hosted the International Plant-for-the-Planet Academy − a United Nations project aimed at planting a billion trees worldwide − where each student trained to become a Climate Justice Ambassador.
And every year it holds an Environmental Fun Day where 1,300 students join with more than 350 visitors to learn all about the latest environmental initiatives.
It had to completed detailed work in all nine Eco-Schools topics to gain Green Flag Ambassador accreditation.
The next Environmental Day at the school will be held on Wednesday 4 July. There will be a host of environmental activities and workshops open to the public from 1pm.