In August 2021, in the run-up to COP 26, Hope Cottage Nursery began an Eco Initiative to become a greener and more sustainable setting - going beyond Reducing, Reusing & Recycling. Our objectives for 2021-22 were;
1. To build on our existing Eco Work by making an Eco Pledge in line with Zero Waste Scotland and the Circular Economy to cut down, cut out and source natural not synthetic.
2. Our Eco Pledge would be to tackle the huge problem of plastic waste by making permanent sustainable changes focusing on cutting out non-recyclable plastics & microplastics.
3. To make links with the Marine Conservation Society Educational Team to help develop Ocean Literacy for the children’s learning, through visits and workshops.
4. To raise adult and parent awareness via the monthly Eco Section in our online newsletter; engaging families in our Eco Journey.
Read on below to see our Eco Journey month by month in the images from our Eco Journal.
Click on an image & zoom in to enlarge and see all the detail.
If you'd like be involved please contact
Natasha.Stewart@hopecottage-nur.edin.sch.uk
Hope Cottage Eco Initiative
The Beginning : August 2021
Celebrate what you already do
Beware of Greenwashing - so called "eco-glitter"
Eco tape ; September 2021
Online Newsletter October 2021
Our Eco Pledge
Marine Conservation Society visit
Setsuko and the Song of the Sea ; deeper learning
Reflecting on MCS’s visit
Recycling and Reusing
Recycling display using biodegradeable tape
Local recycling facilities
Making biodegradeable sugar glitter
Marine Conservation Society AGM December 2021
Our online newsletters
Beach trip with Marine Conservation Society : May 2022
Big Blue Day : June 2022
So we no longer use glitter or sequins. Our Biodegradable tape has replaced masking tape and Sellotape - saving over 1400m of plastic tape going to landfill every year.
Our next step for 2022-23 is to share our practice and all our Eco Research and learning with other educational settings across the city - and to work to phase out glitter and microplastics city-wide.
Please share - join the Eco Journey - spread the word. Every single small action helps build towards big, permanent changes for a better future.
Our sustainable journey was recognised in the 2023 Scottish Education Awards . In June we went to the Awards ceremony and were delighted that Hope Cottage Nursery won the Making A Difference category for our sustainability initiatives. There was a lot of publicity in the build up and we appeared in newspapers and national TV. Inevitably, at times, the details of our sustainability journey got simplified or misrepresented in articles or interviews and this is a good time and place to re-emphasise a couple of key points: • This is not a focus on Recycling, Re-using & Reducing. Ours is a circular economy approach - Cut Down, Cut Out & Source Natural /Biodegradable options versus synthetics. We face a global situation where there is simply too much plastic waste polluting our land and oceans to recyle. • We need to be better role models for our children and not burden the next generation with saving the planet. We acknowledge that we need to take ownership and take pra
