Portree Primary School Demonstrates It’s Got An “Appetite For Action”

Portree Primary School on the Isle of Skye has won £3000 as part of this year’s ‘Appetite for Action’ competition organised by Sky and their environmental charity partner Global Action Plan.  Their Appetite for Action initiative aims to help primary schools learn about how to make the food they eat more sustainable and challenges schools to make a difference.  

As part of the competition, primary schools across the UK were encouraged to pick a challenge such as ‘Reducing Rubbish’ or ‘Get Growing’.  Portree’s pupils took on the ‘Greener Grub’ challenge.  The challenge revolutionised the school’s dinner system, aiming to reduce food waste, involving the pupils, teachers and cooks.

Portree formed a team called The Punkrock Polarbears Society to tackle the challenge head on, and the team members demonstrated a serious commitment to their ‘Greener Grub’ challenge.  The team’s activity included interviewing the school cooks; surveying 80 people’s pack lunches; reducing disposable packaging in packet lunches and holding healthy snack tasting sessions. They started the competition in style writing and performing their own songs advocating healthy lunches.

John Finlayson, Headteacher at Portree Primary School said, “Being involved in Appetite for Action has supported the schools ongoing agenda to make children aware of sutainability, healthy eating and eco-schools issues. It has provided fun and collaborative opportunities for all pupils to be actively involved in activities and experiences which will help them develop citizenship skills and awareness of environmental issues. Winning 3000 pounds was a bonus and the school is going to use it to develop the playground with lots of sustainability ideas.”

Catherine Maclean, Eco-Schools Co-ordinator at Portree Primary School said, “Appetite for Action gave us a great structure and deadlines to help us through lots of eco issues we had been keen to tackle. Entering our challenge for the competition gave everyone an extra incentive and winning runners up was a big morale boost.”

Trewin Restorick, Head of Global Action Plan, said: “Appetite for Action is a fantastic way to educate children about the impact their food choices have on the environment and encourage them to develop good habits in terms of their food choices, for life.  Over the next two years Appetite for Action hopes to engage 5,100 primary schools, with over one million pupils, to inform their pupils about how they can ensure they make sustainable food choices.  Key to this is use of the great interactive website www.appetiteforaction.org, which enables schools to measure their progress, to link up with other schools to share ideas and updates, and compete to be the school with the greatest Appetite for Action.”

Appetite for Action is the only UK schools programmes recognised by the United Nations Environment Programme and participants receive certificates of recognition.

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Notes to Editors
ABOUT APPETITE FOR ACTION
Appetite for Action is an interactive, online teaching resource for primary schools including a wide selection of activities, teaching plans and materials that connect children with the environment and demonstrate the impact their choices make between the food they eat and the food they throw away.
So far 1373 Schools are taking part in Appetite for Action and over the next two years, Sky and Global Action Plan hope to engage 3000 primary schools, with over one million pupils, to both inform their pupils about how they can grow their own food, compost leftovers and reduce their food waste, as well as to reduce the school’s own food waste produced from canteens and lunch boxes.

The Appetite for Action programme is based on the tried and tested ‘Action’ process which is unique to Global Action Plan and founded in their ‘Action in Schools’ programme.

FURTHER INFO
The largest proportion of waste produced by a primary school is through food waste. In total, the average primary school in England produces 10,755kg of waste over one year (40 weeks)¹. A staggering 46% (4,947kg) of this is food waste, which equals 20.7kg of food waste, per child² this is the equivalent of each child filling one wheelie bin full of food related waste over the school year³.

Over 1 million sausages and 5.1 million potatoes are thrown away every day by schools across in the UK.

¹ Figures sourced from The nature and scale of waste produced by schools in England, WRAP Report, June 2008
² This figure is based on an average of 239 pupils per primary school in the UK and Ireland
³ This figure is based on the space inside an average wheelie bin is  0.24 cubic metres therefore the bin would hold approximately 25 kgs of food waste therefore on average one school pupil fills over one wheelie bin full of food related waste each school year (40 weeks or 190-195 days in school)

KEY FOOD WASTE FACTS*:
• 1,224kgs of waste is produced by the average Key stage 2 class in an English primary school, per school year (40 weeks). Of this, approximately 46% is food waste (563kgs)   

• The proportion of food waste in waste from primary schools was found to be more than twice as high as the proportion of food waste found in waste from households - 46% compared to 22%

(Source: *The nature and scale of waste produced by schools in England, WRAP Report, June 2008)

ABOUT GLOBAL ACTION PLAN
Global Action Plan is a leading environmental behaviour change charity that delivers tangible environmental, social and financial improvements. They have run the Action in School programme successfully with over 300 schools and the Appetite for Action challenge is based upon the process used.
Global Action Plan also runs programmes for small businesses, corporates, households, schools and community groups. See www.globalactionplan.org.uk

ABOUT SKY AND Global Action Plan
Sky’s three-year partnership with Global Action Plan is focused on:
• Appetite for Action
• EcoTeams: training employees in eco-living with an aim to cutting their home carbon emissions by 15%, as well as making savings in water and waste
• Evergreen: working with Global Action Plan to create sustainable resources for Housing Associations in Scotland, from raised vegetable patches to hay-bale sheds