Sustainability guide for schools in Hertfordshire

To help prevent the impacts of climate change, we all need to mitigate and adapt.

It will take decades to see the positive effects of our mitigation actions on global temperatures so it's crucial that we adapt to climate change now. We each need to aim for a carbon footprint as small as possible. 

There's so much you can do to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

1. Calculate your carbon footprint
2. Sign up to Count Your Carbon to calculate the overall carbon footprint from your school,
3. Carbon footprint – how can students and staff reduce theirs?
4. Net Zero – what is it and how can your school work towards it?
5. Sustainable travel options – what options do you have to get to and from school?
6. School grounds – how could you make your school grounds greener and more wildlife friendly? Could there be more shady areas to keep students and staff cool during heatwaves?
7. Wise with water – how could you encourage people to use water more sustainably? Your school could install Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) to help control the flow of water and reduce flooding.
8. Recycling – what could your school do to reduce waste and increase recycling?
9. Theme days – take part in a themed event such as Earth Day. Perhaps students could research thematic events that your school could take part in.
10. Join us at a local schools engagement event.

• WWF explains the differences between climate change mitigation and adaptation further.
• Further information on climate change adaptation is available at World Economic Forum and European Commission.
• London Assembly – guidance on how your school can become climate resilient.
• Greywater Action – grey water reuse advice (used water from your bathroom).

• Keep Britain Tidy has a wealth of information and resources available through its Eco-Schools programme.
• STEM Learning and WaterAid UK also offer a range of teaching support for both primary and secondary teachers on climate change and sustainability.
• NASA Climate Kids and Twinkl offer some great information and resources for primary teachers too.

• BBC One - Climate Change - The Facts
• Eco schools basics of climate change
• Adaptation vs. Mitigation Climate Change Solutions
• What is Climate Change Adaptation?
• K12 Climate Action - Adaptation

The remaining countryside is primarily used for intensive agriculture. The county is also divided up by major roads and other transport networks, which has fragmented Hertfordshire’s habitats. Much of the remaining land has been given over to golf courses.

The Hertfordshire State of Nature Report also identified wildlife decline and extinction across all habitats monitored in Hertfordshire, although grassland and heathland habitats have suffered the most species loss, showing a decline in nearly half of all species in these habitats.

• Planting wildflowers and trees is a great way to provide habitat for wildlife, and especially for our declining pollinators such as bees and butterflies.

Smaller habitats

• Create upcycled planters – re-use old items as planters, for example, old pallets, buckets, wellington boots or large yogurt pots – just pierce holes in the bottom for drainage and rope together with string.
• Plant pollinator-friendly plants.
• Grow your own fruit and vegetables or a herb garden.
• Create a mini wildflower meadow or wildflower pots.

Larger habitats

• Plant trees to create a woodland or orchard.
• Create a wildflower meadow.
• Plant a hedge.
• Install vertical and / or wall planters.
• Create a living wall or green roof.
• Hertfordshire County Council’s Woodland creation team can provide free advice and guidance on tree planting at your school.
• Apply to the Woodland Trust and The Tree Council for free saplings to help you get planting.

Go wild

This is the easiest thing you can do to encourage wildlife into the school grounds.

• Leave a patch of grass or land to grow wild. Let the grass and weeds grow. Let the leaves pile up. See what happens.
• With an unused paved area, remove the tarmac or break up the concrete, restore the soil, sow some wildflowers and leave it unattended to see what grows.

Homes and habitats for wildlife

Build additional homes for wildlife, including:

• bug hotels and bee houses
• bird and bat boxes
• butterfly barns
• stone or log piles
• hedgehog boxes
• logs to encourage solitary bees – drill holes into a log and leave it in a sunny location.

Water

Water also provides additional habitat and biodiversity for many species in a garden. 

• Create a mini pond – use an old container like a washing-up bowl.

• Build a pond or water feature (with a fence around the perimeter for safety).
• Plant up the perimeter of an existing pond.

Whatever action you choose to do, use your school garden to create a variety of habitats to support a diversity of different species. Don’t forget that whatever you do, will also need maintaining.

National Education Nature Parks now has a funding finder with around 20 available grants from external providers for schools, community groups and nature projects.

Eartheasy, Biodiversity in Schools and the RHS Campaign for School Gardening provide guidance on how to start creating a wildlife-friendly school garden. WWF also has a wealth of information and guidance to support teachers and schools to become more sustainable through enhancing nature in the school grounds. 

National Education Nature Park has been created by the Natural History Museum and Partners. This features site mapping tools, nature challenges and webinars. 

• The Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust has a fantastic array of resources available to help you in your school gardens.
• The Royal Horticultural Society also hosts the School Gardening Awards and has a number of resources available.
• Teaching support for primary and secondary school teachers can be found through Keep Britain Tidy’s Eco-Schools programme and also STEM Learning.
• For primary school teachers, the BBC’s Bitesize series offers a number of green lessons and activities for in school and at home. Twinkl also has a number of primary resources.
• You can also download for free the Polli:Nation Maintenance Guide by Learning through Landscapes and The Young Tree Growers Guide by The Tree Council.

• BBC One - The Green Planet
• Bringing nature back to Leicester schools | WWF (youtube.com)
• Schools For Nature (youtube.com)
• Wild Isles series (including Saving Our Wild Isles)

As fossil fuels are burnt, greenhouse gases are emitted into the atmosphere, directly causing climate change and pollution. According to the Let’s Go Zero campaign, schools account for 10-20% of carbon emissions.

There are many short-term simple steps that all staff and students can do to help keep buildings warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Perhaps you could create student 'energy champions' and encourage your students to undertake some of the simpler actions below on a rota.

• Use natural lighting as much as possible in your school. Switch off lights when not in use. Label any light switches which need to be left on permanently.
• Replace old lightbulbs with LED lightbulbs.
• Make sure that heaters and radiators are free of any obstructions.
• Close blinds and open windows in the summer to keep the classrooms cooler.
• Close blinds and windows in the winter to keep the classroom warmer.
• Switch off computers and devices when not in use. Do not leave them on standby. 

• Install automatic lighting timers and / or sensors for internal and external lights, which switch lights off when not in use.
• Check and maintain your boiler and hot water timers and ensure that these are serviced regularly.

• Check for any broken windows or door seals, or holes in the flooring, which may cause heat loss. 
• When sourcing devices for the school, try and ensure that they are as energy efficient as possible. These will be A-rated and certified by the Energy Star rating.

Decarbonising your school

Decarbonising a school is a site-specific exercise and there is no “one size fits all” intervention that can be used. However, several simple steps will enable a clear understanding of where the greatest benefits will be.

• Step 1: Calculate your school's carbon footprint. It would be worth also consulting a carbon and sustainability specialist to undertake a site level assessment.
• Step 2: Assess the school’s energy usage and procure a site-specific decarbonisation plan for the school. Guidance on preparing heat decarbonisation plans

Some schools can apply for funding through most Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme applications. This funding is targeted at heat decarbonisation and improving the energy efficiency of publicly owned buildings.

The Schools Energy Framework

This framework allows schools to pool their purchasing power through Hertfordshire County Council to provide more favourable energy tariff rates as part of an ongoing energy procurement framework.

This framework will renew in early 2025 and is open to most types of schools (with the exception of academies and private schools). Email energy.management@hertfordshire.gov.uk for more information.

You may find organisations such as Net Zero Go and The Greater South East Net Zero Hub useful to support the schools’ journey to reach net zero carbon. Further information and guidance on energy efficiency can be found through The Department for Education (DfE), Energy.Gov and 2imprezs websites.

See the Big Clean Switch for information on switching from fossil fuelled to renewable energy suppliers. Why not also join the CDA Hertfordshire Community Energy Network to learn about and share ideas on how you can save energy.

There is also some useful information on retrofitting school buildings provided by the National Education Union. TUC also provides a useful Schools Retrofit Briefing Guide and also a Retrofit Guidance document.

The Soil Association has some interesting reading on how we can reduce our carbon footprint. The WWF also provides further information on energy and emissions and the role of Heat Networks.

Look at Keep Britain Tidy’s Count Your Carbon page to calculate your school’s carbon footprint. Eco-Schools also provides lots of information and resources on reducing energy and emissions.

See Ashden’s Let’s Go Zero Campaign and the Green Schools Project for more information on how your school can be zero carbon by 2030.

Teaching support is also available for primary and secondary school teachers on the STEM Learning website. RIBA Architecture also provides a useful Key Stage 3 and 4 Reuse, Recycle, Retrofit resource. Twinkl also provides a number of primary teaching resources

• Let's Go Zero: Getting started with action in your school
• Retrofitting Schools