We had a real treat this afternoon when Alison, Dorset County Council's Sustainable Schools Project Officer, came to visit us at Winterbourne Valley. All of the Eco Warrior  group and year 3s spend the afternoon with Alison to show her around all our fantastic Eco projects and then play games to learn more about Eco Schools around the world. Alison cycled to us with her mascot Reg who takes a keen interest in all things eco.

To start off with the children talked to Alison and Reg about our Eco Day and all the different activities they had taken part in. Then we headed off into the wildlife garden to show her the bug houses, bird feeders and see what mini beasts were lurking. Then we went to the vegetable beds where preschool have all their herbs, Sharks have planted a variety of vegetables for soup, Dolphins have created a salad bed and Seahorses have their beans and strawberries (which the wildlife have already been enjoying!) . Next we took her to see the recycling that we do in school and the textile bin. All the money raised from our textile bin goes back into the school for eco projects and to run events such as our Eco Day. 

Alison bought with her an inflatable globe and the first thing the children did was to pass it and see where their thumb landed and find out if Eco Schools existed in that country. Over 40 countries around the world have Eco Schools and we discovered that, at Winterbourne, we are part of a 19 million strong group of children who attend Eco Schools. Then the children looked at pictures and tried to guess what country the children were from and what Eco activity they were engaged in. We talked about the things that were the same and the differences between what they do and what we do.  It was a really informative and fun afternoon enjoyed by all.

Alison's final job was to give us all a mission:-         Visit a beach and do a beach clean or nurdle hunt.

Nurdles are the little pellets that are used for making plastic goods. So - if you are out and about at a beach, at the weekend or in the evenings - how about taking part in a beach clean up? Every piece of litter collected helps. If you could then send a photograph into school with your child, that would be fantastic and we will keep Alison and Reg updated as to how we get on. 

Thank you Alison and Reg for visiting us!