In 2018 Greenham Trust awarded £1600 in funding to Mortimer St John’s CE Infant School towards their food composting project. Louise Brookes and Jill Owen visited the school recently to learn more about the project, how the children are getting involved and the benefits it has brought.
As part of an environmental project, the school formed an Eco Warrior Committee who carried out a waste audit and then looked at initiatives to improve recycling and reduce waste. The children were keen not only to recycle paper and plastic but also to make compost from the food waste. In order to do this they needed to raise money to purchase a composting system so applied for funding through www.thegoodexchange.com. The school then engaged in a number of fundraising activities including a sponsored fun run and walk which was match funded by Greenham Trust.
The composting system has now been installed and every lunch time children from each class collect their food waste and process it through the composter. The compost will be used in the school flower beds where they will plant sunflower seeds to sell to parents and thus generate more funds. Since the system has been installed the school has reduced its external waste collection resulting in an annual cost saving of £800.
Chris Boulton, Chief Executive of Greenham Trust said “We are delighted to support this project which has so many benefits – not just for the environment, but in helping educate children about the environmental impact of waste and creating a financial saving for the school.”
Debbie Bale, High Level Teaching Assistant at Mortimer St John’s CE Infant School said “We are grateful to Greenham Trust for their support of this project. The children have really engaged with the project and will be sharing their learnings with the Junior School.”
