Baston’s Winter Eco-Committee

The Eco-Committee at Baston House has been working hard to make sure we are doing everything we can to reduce our energy consumption, which will cut down the amount of fossil fuels we use, in turn reducing our impact on the environment.

This is, of course, the work of the Eco-Committee (they have given themselves the rather more catchy label of E-Team), who continue to meet each week to discuss matters relating to the school and the environment. For example, this term, the E-Team worked together to come up with a new school Eco- Policy.

The E-Team has also been responsible for seed-saving in the gardens. During the winter, we have harvested seeds from radishes, parsley, chives, sunflowers, marigolds and poppies, meaning we don’t have to buy new seeds next year.

In other news, learners who take part regularly in Horticulture and gardening clubs at our school were invited to receive the Alice Street Trophy for our school garden, at the prestigious Guildhall in London.

The London Children’s Flower Society invited us to the Guildhall, with its fancy fireplaces and grand halls. The boys made us so proud when they got up on stage in front of hundreds of children and adults from many other schools across the city. That isn’t easy for anyone, let alone young people with ASC.

Well done boys!

The celebrations don’t end there, though. Our school garden is a registered Capital Growth site. Capital Growth has been providing support and assistance to community and school growing spaces in the capital since 2011. Using their Harvestometer tool, the green-fingered gardeners of Baston

House have been recording our harvests for the last year, and guess what? We won

Capital Growth’s Harvestometer Challenge! That means we harvested the most out of hundreds of other schools.

Our prize was a mini apple press, which will use at community and other events in the new year for freshly pressed apple juice. Mmmm…

Cai Draper, Teacher