Myself and District Councillor, Mrs Michelle English, were guests of honour on Friday for the official opening of the lottery funded Eco House recently installed at Fladbury CE First School. They wielded impressive shears to declare the eco house open by cutting a ribbon of ivy and then went inside to find out more about it.
Headteacher Julie Wilson said "The eco house will enable children to learn about sustainable energy as there is a solar panel and a wind turbine and children can accurately measure the output of the energy produced by both wind and sun. They have already found out that enough energy is quickly produced to light a lamp and also to recharge a laptop, which is encouraging them to think hard about ways they can save money and help the planet by using renewable energy in the future.”
Eco Warrior, Toby Jennings, aged 9, said “The sun’s rays and the wind are free so it makes sense to use them !”
Josh Bird, aged 8, was equally enthusiastic “The eco house is brilliant and we can even put up a ‘hide' around some of the panels to do some secret bird watching.”
Local ‘green' ambassador, Peter Bugg, also came along to the opening and is keen to encourage children to think carefully about how they look after wildlife. He is very enthusiastic about the new project. “We recently took part in the RSPB Big Bird Watch and this will be fantastic for a wide range of projects. I’m very impressed.”
The eco house, funded by the National Lottery, is part of the school’s strategy for the future. Fladbury First School already has a thriving Forest School and children regularly compost waste, grow (and eat!) their own strawberries, monitor birds in the nest boxes and visit local orchards to find out about fruit growing and bee keeping. Children have also created a wormery and a tower for Fladbury mini-beasts to call home!