Some classroom activities - science and global citizenship

Dingwall PS science class making their compost timelines (or Rot Pots) re-using and recycling as they go. A fantastic chance to concoct compost cocktails! This activity is available on WRAP website 

A fine set of Rot Pots - the pupils will watch the contents decompose over the next few weeks and months. Dingwall PS staff have amongst the BEST compost we've seen!

Does our food really come from so far away? Tarradale PS pupils match our everyday fruit and veg from the local shop to the map of the World. They discovered that some of it could have come from much closer to home. RoWAN can do this activity with your class, or lend you the map. Just ask.

Events coming up

12th February @ Dingwall Academy "Sharing Event" a great chance for pupils and staff to show everyone what has worked for your school when it comes to trying to reduce the amount of food and packaging that we waste. Please get in touch to let us know you are coming.

21st February @ Dingwall Academy
Free CPD workshop "R U Up 4 Growing food?"
Contact Toni for more details or look on the Highland Council CPD website.

3-9th March Climate Challenge Week - Ferintosh Primary are already signed up. Why don't you too? We can help - if it helps!

                                              Time to get your seeds and planting planned!

How to feed a Green Johanna hot food composter - thanks to Muirtown Primary

Start with a bucket or two of food waste from lunchtime

Put the waste food in the Green Johanna and stir ...adding the same amount of brown material - such as leaves - and stir again. Remember to put the lid back on.Thanks to Clair and Fiona for showing me how it works.

  

If you would like more information on the Green Johanna please get in touch with Toni or Norman, several of our project schools have them and would be happy to share the ups and downs of keeping it happy! Have a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=D7YR6GvEm3A

Have a look at this selection of shots of the busy pupils and parents at Dingwall Primary School - they got nearly 300 trees planted in one afternoon!

Charleston parents R Up 4 It!

Norman and I had a very busy evening last night at Charleston Academy meeting parents of S5/6 pupils and several members of staff interested in being part of our project to reduce food waste. Hopefully lots of involvement with the school over the coming months. 

Best thing we learned last night - the school has changed over to china plates in the canteen - doing away with the huge number of polystyrene bun boxes they had when we did a waste audit last year. 

                                                               No more bun boxes to landfill

We're back in action

Expect a flurry of activity now Toni's found out how to post some snippets of what all the R U Up 4 It? schools have been up to.  For a start here's a photo of Tarradale Primary School's apple pressing fun last week using apples from their school garden, and some from Mrs Dalgety who lives about 1 kilometre from the school. They had the use of Transition Black Isle's apple press for part of their Eco Challenge Week and made about 15 litres of lovely juicy juice. 

What did the pupils learn on the topic of reducing food waste?   We'll they worked out that the "food miles" the apples travelled was only 50 meters! We wonder what the food miles are for bought apple juice? 

RoWAN has a lively activity that all schools are welcome to use where pupils learn how far some of their food has travelled by placing fruit and veg on a huge floor map of the world. 

Please let us know if you'd like something you are doing added to the blog so we can share all the wonderful work you are doing around food waste reduction.

New RIDAN food composter

We have a new update about what has recently happened in our academy. Our school had built a new RIDAN food composter. RIDAN set-up at Dingwall Academy is part of the CCF funded RUup4it? Project. The RIDAN composter will be used by our school to compost cooked and uncooked food waste from school meals and reduce the amount of waste going into landfill. The compost will be used in the school garden to produce fruit and veg for the school and local community.

For more information on how to set up and use our new RIDAN composter watch the video:

http://youtu.be/RHwlfasmH0w   

Or type in Dingwall Academy – RIDAN in YouTube and you should be able to watch the video.