News

A primary school in Hemel Hempstead has been named 2022 Eco-Primary School of the Year.

Westbrook Hay Preparatory School won the Eco-Schools England award, which recognises a primary school able to demonstrate it has implemented the Eco-Schools programme to positively impact the school and its local community.

Some of the green initiatives, which participating students (known as Eco Warriors) undertook at the school included:

• "Switch off" weeks when teachers turn off their interactive white boards and computers for lessons
• Recycling batteries and ink cartridges
• Encouraging families to lift-share and make use of the school shuttle buses to reduce the number of cars travelling to and from school.

Other sustainable activities include the school’s gardening club, growing their own vegetables for use in the school kitchen, and school leavers being able to choose a fruit tree to plant in the on-site orchard.

Cllr Graham Barrett, our Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhood Services, said: “This award is the highest accolade the school could have achieved and is a fantastic recognition for all of the hard work carried out by its Eco Warriors and staff in aiming to become a more sustainable school.”

We provide support to schools wishing to achieve the Eco-Schools Green Flag, including hosting school assemblies about litter and recycling, and supplying litter-picking equipment for classes to borrow.

We publish a regular SEED (Supporting Environmental Education in Dacorum) newsletter, with schools encouraged to sign up to receive the latest information about environmental campaigns and events.

For more information, and to receive the SEED newsletter, please visit our School Recycling page or email recycle@dacorum.gov.uk. To find out more about the Eco-Schools programme, visit the Eco-Schools website.