Empowering Change
Mary Hare is proud to have joined the Eco Schools' Programme, a pupil led programme that gets the whole school involved in environmental projects. It is a global engaging 19.5 million children across 67 countries making it the largest educational programme on the planet.
Started a year ago by a group of Year 10 pupils, the Eco Programme at Mary Hare is now underway and is gathering speed. The Eco Schools' Programme helps children make a difference by giving them the skills and opportunity to get involved with various eco projects around their school. Mary Hare has noticed how it has given its pupils the confidence to get involved in a wider intiative, to discuss their ideas with others and then to implement them, whilst learning more about the environment at the same time.
Initially a group of about 20 students met to carry out a survey around the school and to come up with ideas for an eco activity each term.
The first activity involved making eco bricks from many materials that are not recylable. The students learnt the art of making an eco brick and completed them in their own time. The committe will decide whether this project could be rolled out across the school and what the bricks could be used for in a wider sense.
The second activity took place in February when a group of students planted 30 trees on a woodland site managed by the school. They learnt about tree planting, tree spacing and the greater benefits of trees for things such as biodiversity and cleaner air. The students also learnt about the array of wildlife that uses trees such as woodpeckers and insects. Although it was raining and windy during the day, this did not deter the students from taking part nor did it dampen their enthusiasm. 
Other forthcoming projects will include a visit to a recycling centre and making recycled paper.