Botanic
Primary School
Delight in Effort, Acceptance and Achievement
Our Eco School
We took part in the Big Spring Clean litter pick to help keep our school and community clean.
Our New Eco Committee
Well done to the Eco Committee who gained our sixth Green Flag Award 🌱
The whole school loved taking part in our Bio Diversity day 🌿🌻
P5 have loved taking part in lots of planting and watching some of the vegetables grow 🌱
P6 enjoyed taking part in a healthy eating session with Fanscesca from Moments Not To Be Wasted 🍎 🥦
The Eco Committee recorded a video for assembly and released a competition for a new eco code ♻️
P5 are working with Martha from the conservation volunteers, they enjoyed making bird feeders using pine cones, margarine and seeds.
Our Eco Committee 🌏🌿
P4 helped to clear the garden ready for planting 💐
Nursery have been recycling using cardboard boxes to create their own models, they have also been using paper from their black paper bin to cover their models in paper mache before painting 🧑🎨.
Some children in P4 have been weighing the paper bins in each classroom for the Litter Less Campaign to help reduce the amount of paper waste.
We love nature!
We can all make a difference
We are so proud of our wonderful P1s, who used their first ever assembly to teach us how we can all make a difference when it comes to litter. After retelling the story of the 'Boy and The Starfish,' they showed us how picking up just one piece of litter from the street each day can make a big difference to our environment. Well done P1!
Check out the link below to find out all about Primary 4's Forest Schools Work
Zero Waste
Check out the video the children working on our 'Zero Waste' initiative made to send to our friends at Gaindakot English School, Nepal. Part 2 will involve getting our mini-project aimed at reducing single-use plastics in schools up and running. Both schools will share their learning with one another throughout. We were also lucky enough to host Ms Beena Koirala from the school at Botanic in April. Beena shared the environmental work undertaken by her Nepali pupils with our children and has given us lots of food for thought.
Thanks to all our pupils and families who joined us for our Walking Bus
Wellness Week - Looking after our bodies and minds
Intergenerational Planting Project
We were delighted to host the residents of Elm Court, Donegall Pass for the continuation of our Intergenerational Planting Project. They helped us to plant a pear tree, several apple trees and a collection of raspberry bushes within our school grounds. Not only will we hopefully have some wonderful fruit to harvest and enjoy in the future but we are also taking our own, community-based action to stop climate change!
Eco Committee Bin Audit
Eco Committee carried out a bin audit on 5 randomly selected bins throughout our school to determine how well our recycling systems are working. They were pleased on the whole with their findings but have a few small reminders:
- Ice packs should be cut open and emptied of liquid before being placed in general waste
- Unopened/uneaten food should be taken home
- Tea bags can be placed in food bins
Belfast City Council Waste Management Workshops
Eco Committe Present their Work in Assembly
Sustrans Classroom Sessions
A visit from Ellie the Elf
Nursery and P1 were visited by Ellie the Elf who reminded us how to keep Belfast litter-free.
We receive our Sustrans Silver Award
On Friday 16th November we held our first active travel event of the 2018/2019 school year. Pupils 'ditched the dark' and wore bright and reflective clothing as they walked, cycled or scooted to school. We were also joined in assembly by PC Duffy and Beverley from Sustrans NI, who presented us with our Silver Award for excellence in sustainable travel. Well done to all our pupils and parents for helping to make this happen. Now lets go for gold!
Biodiversity
Primary 1 and 2 had lovely visits from Deborah at Henry Brothers today. We learned about the importance of minibeasts for our environment and made some minibeast hotels to hang around the playground. Eco Committee will be also be working with Deborah in the new year to make a more permanent and large-scale minibeast hotel for the school garden.
Eco Committee 2018 - 2019
Visiting Donegall Pass Community Garden during our Intergenerational Project
Feet First Families
To celebrate the launch of Sustrans' new 'Feet First Families' initiative, we decided to show our children and families exactly what we could do with all the extra space around our school if fewer parking bays were required. The Eco Committee voted to turn the area taken up by one UK parking bay into the 'Botanic Beach.' Check it out...
Intergenerational Planting Project with Elm Court
Our Intergenerational Planting Project begins...
We've teamed up with the Federation of City Farms to begin an exciting new intergenerational planting project with the residents of Elm Court in Donegall Pass. During our first session, we tasted 7 different kinds of apples and carried out 'apple bashing.' We then planted the seeds! We can't wait to begin planting at Elm Court in the Summer Term.
P2 made new toys from old junk
Ditch the Dark
Well done to everyone who ditched the dark and walked, cycled or scooted to school on Friday 24th November. Keep up the good work!
We helped to launch the Wheelie Big Challenge 2017-2018
Check out the Eco Committee helping to launch this year's Wheelie Big Challenge in conjunction with Eco Schools NI and Belfast City Council. We came 1st in the Primary Schools category last year and cannot wait to investigate further ways to reduce waste in school this year!
Congratulations to the whole school community for being awarded the Sustrans Bronze Award for Excellence in Sustainable Travel! Thank you to everyone who participated in the many events held this year. We are looking forward to seeing you at future events.
Green Flag Success
We had an important visit from Eco Schools NI on Thursday 15th June to assess our Eco work and were jumping for joy to learn we had earned our 4th Green Flag!!! Well done everyone for making a massive effort to reduce, reuse and recycle. We are very proud of you!
We came 1st in the 'Wheelie Big Challenge'
Check out the Eco Committee who were at Stormont on Wednesday 14th June for the 'Wheelie Big Challenge' finals. We were delighted to win 1st prize and will be putting our £500 towards a new bike shelter.
The documents below show how we have increased our recycling this year and worked to encourage active travel to and from school.
Nursery to P7 were planting some delicious vegetables and beautiful flowers in our balcony garden.
Walk to School Week
Well done to all those children who participated in 'Walk to School Week!' Here are some photos of our 'double play' to celebrate.
'Go Green' Day
We held a 'Go Green' Day in April to raise awareness of environmental issues. Pupils dressed in green or created their own costumes from recycled materials and we all made an extra special effort to walk, cycle and scoot to school.
P2 held an assembly to tell us all about how we can make a difference in our world and we launched our charity fundraising event for 'The Ten Foundations.' Through this work, we will be helping to promote sustainable development and supporting families and children in the Philippines to earn a living.
Well done everyone!
'Go Green'/'Spring Drawing Competition - Winning Entries
We wheelie love to Pedal!
Well done to all pupils who participated in The Big Pedal 2017 by cycling or scooting to school. A special mention must also go to the Nursery, Year 1 and Year 2 classes who had the highest number of children participating in the event. We hope you enjoy your prizees. Keep up the good work!
Active Travel Policy
Our Eco-Committee members have been busily working with Miss Gunn and Beverley from Sustrans over the last few weeks to devise a child-friendly 'Active Travel Policy' for our school and we are very proud of what they have created. The policy will now be presented to the Board of Governors for approval at their next meeting. Well done to all the children involved!
P1-P3 Bike Safety Checks
Healthy Heart, Happy Heart Day
Well done to all those children who walked, cycled or scooted to school in their high-visibility vests for 'Healthy Heart, Happy Heart Day.' The vests were provided by Sustrans' Active Travel Programme and funded by the Public Health Agency.
Captain Cleanup Puppet Show
Check out the photos of our visit from Captain Cleanup who taught us how to keep Belfast Tidy. Remember 'Don't drop it, stop it!'
Santa Hat Stroll
We had great fun walking, cycling and scooting to school wearing our Santa hats in December. Well done to all the boys and girls who made an extra special effort to get active that day. Keep it up!
Click below to see us in the Sustrans newsletter.
We are delighted to have been chosen to take part in the Sustrans 'Active School Travel Programme'. Sustrans is a leading sustainable transport charity which encourages children to make more journeys to school by cycling, walking or scooting. Our Sustrans Active Travel officer, Beverley, will help us to get active by organising different activities and events throughout the year. She'll be offering cycling training to KS2 pupils and working with us to get better facilities for our bikes and scooters.