“It was a far more daunting prospect than talking to a room full of adults”, commented Sustainable Charlbury trustee Tim Crisp, describing how he felt ahead of addressing the morning assembly at Charlbury School.
His audience included more than one hundred primary school age children in years 1 to 6. In a 20-minute session, he had to try and explain the importance of renewable energy generation for protecting the climate, why Charlbury has its own solar farm (run by Southill Community Energy) and how surplus revenues from the solar farm are put into the local community through a grants programme administered by Sustainable Charlbury.
High level of interest
Far from being bored or baffled, as Tim feared, his young audience turned out to be receptive and enthusiastic. “It was exciting to have so much engagement. The level of interest was way beyond what I usually get in talks to adult community groups”, he said later.
The talk was one of the several events held at the school to mark Big Green Week in June.
The children were especially vocal in their reaction to slides showing them pictures of projects supported by Sustainable Charlbury and asking them to name where they were. All the locations were instantly recognised, with the loudest shrieks heard in response to an image of Charlbury School.
Projects supported so far
As Tim set out to explain, Sustainable Charlbury has built close links with the school which it is hoped will develop even further in future. These links have been underpinned by £25,000 worth of grants awarded to the school since 2021.
Projects supported financially include:
- A whole building survey by the retrofit organisation Cosy Homes to identify the best ways of improving energy efficiency.
- Energy-efficient lighting and new cavity wall insulation, with future plans to insulate the loft and replace doors and windows to reduce energy bills, lessen environmental impact, and reinforce the message to children that we all share responsibility for protecting the environment.
- Additional staff time to increase work with pupils and staff to implement a curriculum focused on biodiversity, energy and nature recovery.
- Ensuring the school’s partnership with Little Wild Things continues, taking the youngest children to forest school in Cornbury Woods.
New Head
The school is fortunate to have in Kate Robertson a new Head who is passionate about putting sustainability into education. Her background as an environmental scientist is a bonus.
Tim’s talk seems to have gone down well, although the father of one child attending said his son told afterwards him that “Tim Peake” had come to the school. Being mistaken for a well-known astronaut is perhaps no bad thing!
