🌟 ECO Squad Blog – We Did It! 🌟

We Are Officially a Plastic Free School! 🎉♻️

We’re absolutely thrilled to announce that… WE DID IT!

After months of hard work, creativity, teamwork, and determination, our amazing Eco Squad has officially completed all five objectives of the Plastic Free Schools campaign and we are now proudly recognised as a Plastic Free School! 🏆🌍

Throughout this journey, the Eco Squad have:

✅ Formed a Plastic Free Action Group
✅ Organised and led a high-energy Trash Mob
✅ Wrote to our local MP to raise awareness
✅ Contacted major companies to challenge plastic use
✅ And made real changes in our own school by eliminating glitter, switching to refillable cleaning bottles, and using reusable paint containers in every class!

Our Eco Squad have been true leaders—educating, inspiring, and making lasting changes. Their passion for protecting the planet has brought our whole school community together, and this is just the beginning!

A huge WELL DONE to every pupil and staff member involved. We’re so proud of what we’ve achieved and we’ll keep working to make Brooklands greener, cleaner, and more sustainable every day. 🌱💚

#PlasticFreeSchool
#EcoSquad
#BrooklandsGoesGreen

🌍 Objective 1: Action Plan – Completed! ✅

This week marked an exciting start to our journey toward becoming a Plastic Free School!

We held our very first Eco Squad meeting at Wray Park, bringing together 12 enthusiastic children from both school sites. These passionate pupils have formed our brand-new Plastic Free Action Group, and they're already brimming with ideas and energy.

At the meeting, everyone proudly received their very own Brooklands Eco Squad caps, which they wore with pride as we launched our campaign to reduce plastic waste in our school.

The group got stuck in straight away! Their first task was to design and decorate colourful posters for our upcoming ‘Trash Mob’ - a fun litter pick happening next week. These posters will be displayed around the school to spread the word and get everyone involved.

To kick off the campaign, the children also announced our mission in school assemblies, inspiring the whole school community to join in. We’re all really excited to see what we can achieve together!

Stay tuned for updates on our Plastic Free journey 🌿

🗑️ Objective 2: Trash Mob – Completed! 💥

Our first Trash Mob was a huge success and a whole lot of fun!

Pupils from both school sites took part in a quick-fire, high-energy litter pick around the school grounds. Children from all classes joined in, working together to clear up rubbish and make our school environment cleaner and greener.

Everyone did a fantastic job not just picking up litter, but also sorting it into the correct recycling bins. even broken toys were carefully recycled where possible! After the clean-up, the children helped record the types of pollution we found, which will help us understand the biggest problem areas and work on solutions.

It was amazing to see so much teamwork, energy, and enthusiasm. Well done to all our Eco Squad members and everyone who joined the Trash Mob! ♻️👏

📨 Objective 3: Challenging the Government – Completed!

Today, our Eco Squad took an important step in using their voices to create change!

In our meeting, we discussed how young people can make a difference and how our local MP is elected to represent our community. The children learned about the role of Members of Parliament and how they can raise important issues like plastic pollution on our behalf.

After researching who our local MP is, the children worked together to write a thoughtful letter asking for support in tackling the problem of plastic waste. They shared their concerns and explained the steps we’re already taking as part of our Plastic Free Schools journey.

We’ve posted the letter and are now eagerly waiting to see if we receive a reply. Fingers crossed! 🤞📬

Stay tune and we’ll update you as soon as we hear back.

🏭 Objective 4: Challenging the Industries – Completed!

Following our Trash Mob, the Eco Squad took a closer look at the types of litter found around our school and made an important discovery.

We noticed that certain products kept turning up again and again, especially crisp packets and chocolate bar wrappers. The children did a fantastic job identifying the main offenders contributing to plastic pollution on our school grounds. To support our findings, we even took photographs of the most commonly littered items.

Our next mission? 💌 We're going to write letters to the companies behind these products, asking them what actions they’re taking to reduce plastic waste and make their packaging more sustainable.

It’s been inspiring to see the children thinking critically about where litter comes from and taking steps to challenge big industries to do better.

Stay tuned to see how they get on with their letters!

✉️ Contacting the Polluters – Letters Sent!

After investigating the most common sources of plastic pollution found during our Trash Mob, the Eco Squad took action once again!

We carefully reviewed the litter we collected and identified which companies were responsible for the most packaging waste. Then, the children voted on which three manufacturers to contact and the results were clear: Starbucks, McDonald's, and Tesco.

With our targets chosen, the Eco Squad got to work writing thoughtful, persuasive letters to each company. The children discussed what they wanted these businesses to tackle first focusing on reducing single-use plastics and improving packaging sustainability.

Once everyone was happy with their letters, we sent them off to the head offices. Now, we wait to see if they respond!

We’re proud of how confidently the children used their voices to push for change and we’ll be sure to update you as soon as we hear back. 📬🌍

📬 We Got a Reply! – Tesco Responds to Our Eco Squad ✉️

Exciting news from the Eco Squad!

Last week, we received our first response ..... a letter from Tesco’s Head Office in reply to the letter we sent about reducing plastic waste. The children were thrilled to hear back and to know that their voices are being heard by such a large company.

The letter from Tesco explained some of the steps they are already taking to become more sustainable, and it also showed that they appreciated hearing from our young environmental champions.

We’ve attached a copy of the letter below so you can read it too!

This response has inspired the Eco Squad even more to keep pushing for positive change. Now, we’re eagerly waiting to hear from McDonald’s and Starbucks!

Stay tuned for more updates and well done to all the children for making their voices count! 🌱💪

As part of our mission to become a Plastic Free School, we’ve taken a bold and exciting step: we’ve officially committed to eliminating three types of single-use plastic from our school for good! 🌍🚫

After thoughtful discussion within the Eco Squad and across the school, we agreed to say goodbye to:

1. ✨ Glitter – While it may look fun, glitter is a microplastic that harms the environment. We're now using eco-friendly alternatives for art projects.

2. 🧼 Disposable soap and cleaning bottles – Instead of buying new plastic bottles, we’re now refilling reusable ones to reduce waste.

3. 🎨 Small plastic paint bottles – Each class now has reusable paint bottles that are refilled from large containers, cutting down on plastic packaging.

These changes may seem small, but they add up to make a big difference. We’re incredibly proud of our whole school community for stepping up and committing to a more sustainable future.

Well done, Eco Squad you’ve officially completed Objective 5! ♻️🌱