Going green

Green issues are very much at the forefront of everyone’s mind at the minute. To make sure we’re being as environmentally friendly as possible, we’re constantly reviewing and improving our green initiatives inside and outside the office. Here are some examples of the recent changes we’ve been making to help make the planet a greener place to live!

Denbigh Community Primary School
Denbigh Community Primary School in Newcastle recently celebrated its 50th anniversary with the help of green-fingered NCFE staff.
A dozen staff volunteered their time to clear the overgrown garden of weeds, nettles and ferns so that it could be returned to its former glory.
The garden fell into disrepair after the teacher who ran the gardening club left the school and the garden became over-run with debris.
Catherine Mastaglio, NCFE’s Sector Officer for Education and Training/Child Development and Well Being organised the event. She said: “We were really keen to help the school restart their gardening club.
“The school was after some initial green fingers to help clear away the debris so that the children could then be involved in helping to maintain the garden. Since it’s been cleared each class has been assigned with a garden ‘eco-warrior’ who will ensure the garden stays neat and tidy.
The school’s garden is now a clear and tidy space with space for a vegetable patch, art sculptures and a habitat area.
It is hoped the garden will become a key focus for learning and that lessons will be centred on nurturing the plants and wildlife that live there as well as providing a display area for arts and crafts.

FSC paper
We publish a lot of publications and printed material each year. In a bid to become more aware of our green responsibilities we have recently converted to printing on Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) accredited paper. This means that everything we print from now on will use paper from renewable and sustainable sources. FSC labelled products are made with consideration for people, wildlife and the environment and this is the kind of attitude we’re keen to spread across the whole organisation.

Green month
Different teams across the organisation came up with ideas on how we can work together to be greener. Each team was assigned a different week and asked to come up with ideas and activities to encourage staff to think more about their environmental impact.
As well as a presentation on food miles encouraging staff to think about the distance their food travels and the affect this has on carbon footprints, posters were also displayed to encourage people to get public transport, walk or car-pool to work.
Different coloured waste bins were deposited at each desk to encourage paper to be separated from other waste so that it can be recycled.
A sunflower growing competition also took place and the results can still be seen in the office today. Currently the tallest sunflower stands at well over six foot tall!

HR and recruitment
Our HR team is now actively encouraging online applications in a bid to reduce the amount of paper applications distributed and received.

Page author Lisa Pettica lisapettica@ncfe.org.uk April 08