GREEN LINKS Education for Sustainable Development & Global Citizenship Newsletter

1. GREEN LINKS Education for Sustainable Development & Global Citizenship Newsletter Issue 23, Summer 2013 Welcome to the World of Ogs! These charming and quirky characters have been developed by Francine Davies. ‘The Ogs’ have embarked upon an enormous task. They call themselves Environmental Ambassadors and they want you to join them as they make sense of the environment around them. They are a family of sorts. They want to live in tune with their environment. They want to appreciate what they have rather than focus on what they have not got at their disposal. They want to share with those who are interested in what they have found. They have not come to judge but to record and try to make sense of the world around them. They started their journey on the South Wales coast, though they have already travelled North, and they look forward to being called to a place near you in time. All we know is that they are here to stay and they hope you like their stories and activities they inspire The Ogs provide a great way for children and adults to use their imaginations and learn about and contribute to supporting their environment. Through storytelling and craft children and adults are invited to make their own characters by re-purposing fabrics and materials. The children’s characters are called ‘Oglets’. Thank you everyone who embarks on this exploration with us. We hope the experience will change you forever! All the best Mum and the children of the craft room

2. Workshops for children Oglets are then used to explore different environments and can be used to help children storytell themselves. Og Diaries are made and provide an imaginative way to help children record their findings. This provides a powerful method for developing literacy and the ability to communicate. The workshops that I have set up have grown from these observations and offer a novel way of educating. Workshops can be delivered to school Children of most ages. Different levels of support may be required for children in Reception, Year 1 and 2. This can be a great way of encouraging parent input in to classroom activities with younger children. As children become more developed in their fine motor skills workshops can be adapted to more advanced techniques. Children in Years 4, 5 and 6 have shown tremendous skill in sewing, storytelling and application. Children can then use photography and IT to explore and develop additional skills with their characters. Schools can identify a topic(s) to focus a workshop on. This will enable children to research a famous character such as Robin Hood/ Dafydd ap Siencyn or Henry V111 and create an ‘Ogified’ version of them. Workshops have been tailored in the past to making additional accessories such as Hunting Bags using specific materials and techniques that are atypical of a specific time. The possibilities are endless. Average cost for an afternoon workshop is £125.00.

3. Workshops for parents/guardians. Workshops can be developed for Parents/Guardians of Children. These workshops will focus on individual parents/guardians creating characters as a tool for play and storytelling with their children. These workshops are fun and can build confidence in individuals as they create and develop stories and toys using low cost, environmentally-friendly, sustainable methods. Workshops for Staff. Other Workshops include staff training days. These can be particularly useful for pre-school staff who can explore the possibilities of introducing the Ogs and Oglets in to the pre-school curriculum. The Tutor will use storytelling to engage staff and then help them explore character development and storytelling using low cost, environmentally friendly, sustainable methods. Average cost for a full day training is £300-350. Other Workshops/Tutoring As a freelance artist I am also available for a variety of art workshops and private tutoring. Area of interest include: Inspirational drawing, mark making and using acrylics for dramatic effect. To get an idea of my style of work please access the following website www.francinedaviesart.com. Bespoke Ogs. Finally, if you would like someone familiar to you, a much loved pet or a famous person made in to an ‘Og’ then please contact me via email frantotalimprove@aol.com, or on the website www.francinedaviesart.com or www.theworldofogs.com to find out more about Bespoke Characters. Contact Details: Francine Davies Tel 01656 881090 Mobile: 07780600932 email: frantotalimprove@aol.com www.francinedaviesart.com www.theworldofogs.com

4. Caerphilly Eco Early Year’s Conference An Eco Early Years conference was held in March 2013 in partnership with the Early Years Team to support early years settings incorporating ESDGC into their curriculum and management. The aim of the conference was to show the attendees how settings could be managed sustainably, to provide ideas to incorporate ESDGC into curriculum activities with the children and to promote the sustainability message to the parents and wider community. Approximately 80 early years workers and managers attended the conference from settings throughout the Caerphilly county borough to learn more about sustainable development and global citizenship. The conference included a key note speech from Phil Williams at Plan-it Eco and workshops covering waste minimisation, energy efficiency, willow weaving, the world of Ogs and sustainable lifestyles and global citizenship. The conference was held at St James Primary School, enabling attendees to discover the sustainable features of a new build school The conference was run in partnership with the Early years Team and ESD Officer with support from the Waste Minimisation Team and the RDP Energy Team. Workshops were also provided by The World of Ogs, Out to Learn Willow and Plan-it Eco.

5. Friends of the Earth – The Bee Cause campaign Caerphilly is buzzing this year with Friends of the Earth’s ‘The Bee Cause’ campaign. Bees of all sorts have been declining over the years due to habitat loss, climate change and pesticide use amongst other things. All is not lost however as we aim to ‘give Bees a chance’. Friends of the Earth campaigners have already persuaded the Welsh Government to draw up a new Pollinator Action Plan to protect bees, butterflies and other pollinators in Wales. But now they need your help. There are lots of easy and cool things you can do to help our buzzing little friends. You can use FoE’s educational resource pack to talk to the children about the issues, you can organise special bee hotel making sessions to give solitary bees a nice home this year and you can plant small wildflower areas in your schools or encourage children to do so at home. All of these are available at www.foe.co.uk/bees In Caerphilly you can come along and support this years Go Wild event which will be themed around pollinators with exciting and fun games and activities for all the family and lastly, you can share your wildflower garden photos, your wacky bee hotel designs, your bee photos and all things bee related on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/CaerphillysBuzzing

6. Walk to School Week – 20th to 24th May 2013 Take part in Striders 5-Day Challenge, an engaging and educational challenge that can be run during Walk to School Week or at any time that suits you. Visit http://www.livingstreets.org.uk/walk-with-us/walk-to-school/walk-to-school-week for more information. Walk to School week takes place as part of National Walking Month, bringing together nearly one million schoolchildren, teachers and parents. This year they are teaching children about the benefits of walking, with each day focussing on a different aspect of walking: Safety, Discovery, Health, Eco friendly and Social time There are also free learning resources to complement each day of the challenge, which will be available from May 1st. Free your Feet Secondary School challenge Free Your Feet is a whole school walking challenge, schools taking part have the chance of winning an iPad mini plus other walk to school support for their school. Encouraging students to walk to school means you get healthy alert students arriving at a safe congestion free gate every morning. The Free your Feet campaign increases students awareness of the benefits of walking and encourage them to walk as much as they can, on their school journeys, over a week. Student postcards are collected at the end of the week, and entered into a prize draw, with one student at each participating school winning a £50 shopping voucher. Everyone who has walked at all (however far), has an equal chance of winning. For schools already engaged with the Healthy Schools approach, the challenge is an ideal way of satisfying a ‘meaningful outcome’ as its pre and post event surveys show sustainable modal shift. Visit http://www.livingstreets.org.uk/shop/walk-to-school/free-your-feet-pack for more information and to register.

7. RESOURCES Growing Schools www.growingschools.org.uk Resources available to schools If you are a teacher looking for interesting and innovative ways of incorporating outdoor learning into your lessons, this section holds a wide variety of resources related to the outdoor classroom. The Wild Weather Book There are 72 brilliant, imaginative suggestions for wild things to do outdoors in rain, wind and snow. Now there is no excuse to be bored and suck inside. It includes chapters on Rainy Days, After the Rain, Windy Days, Snowy Days and Icy Days, with simple step by step instructions, a difficulty key and fun, vibrant photographs. Visit www.growingschools.org.uk/ The Growing School Garden Award! Working with the Botanic Gardens Education Network (BGEN), Growing Schools has developed an award for gardens that provide advice and training for schools, and demonstrates how gardens can be used for active learning across the curriculum. Gardens of all kinds, including school gardens, are eligible for the new awards. Visit http://www.growingschools.org.uk/GrowingSchoolsGardenAward/becomegsg.aspx for more information on how to become a Growing School Garden Site. There is also a virtual Growing School Garden, Learning outside the classroom, to encourage more widespread use of educational opportunities away from the classroom and to inspire schools to provide high quality learning experiences. Visit http://www.thegrowingschoolsgarden.org.uk

8. RESOURCES Growing Schools www.growingschools.org.uk Grow Your Own Salad Initiative! The British Leafy Salads Association has launched a new Grow Your Own Salads initiative for primary schools aimed at children aged 7-11.  The initiative is designed to help children develop first-hand knowledge of where their food comes from in their own classrooms. Teachers can apply for free Grow Your Own Salads kits and download curriculum based teaching resources, developed in conjunction with us at the British Nutrition Foundation. The resources include eight pupil friendly worksheets along with whiteboard activities. The resources can be downloaded from the website www.makemoreofsalad.com and applications for the kits can be made online, via email: salad@ceres-pr.co.uk or by calling 01189 475956. Kits will be delivered in September 2012 designed to be grown in the classroom during the autumn term. • Growing Schools Garden Award! • Working with the Botanic Gardens Education Network, Growing Schools has developed an award for gardens that provide advice and training for schools, and demonstrate how gardens can be used for active learning across the curriculum. Gardens of all kinds, including school gardens, are eligible. To find out more, go to http://www.growingschools.org.uk/GrowingSchoolsGardenAward/ • To • Exemplify good practice, including risk management, in children’s learning in the natural environment • Provide training for teachers and educators to develop outdoor classrooms for learning • Provide access to gardens that offer a range of plant displays and opportunities for learning outside the classroom Growing School Year Planner! Growing Schools has re-printed its popular colourful and informative calendar-style year planner for the classroom. It’s available free, and schools can order a copy now. The year planner is enlivened with inspirational photos, and packed with tips and advice to encourage outdoor learning through growing food in schools. Visit the Growing Schools website to order your free copy.

9. RESOURCES Growing Schools www.growingschools.org.uk Get Your Hands Dirty! New resource to help teachers consider the issues involved in growing plants, or caring for animals, in schools. Written by experienced teachers, this free resource pack and it’s downloadable web-based materials gives you ideas, practical advice, educational reasons, and case studies to help you grow plants or keep animals in your school grounds. The free resource box, an accompanying booklet demonstrating the educational and school benefits, and dividers is available by sending an email with your school contact details to ian@schoolfarms.org.uk You can also download the pdf files from http://www.growingschools.org.uk/Resources/Resource.aspx?id=298 Grow Your Own Potatoes A project that teaches primary school children about potatoes. All you have to do is register your school to receive a FREE potato growing kit, use the supporting lesson plans and worksheets and for a chance to win fabulous prizes for your school, enter the competition once you have harvested. With almost 1 million primary school benefiting from this classroom experience, children can learn how potatoes grow and how they fit in to a healthy balanced diet. Visit http://gyop.potato.org.uk/PreRegister.aspx?PageId=51 to register your school.

10. National What Day/ Week/ Month Link to your Eco School Work! MAY 2011 School Grounds/ Health/ Waste Minimisation 6th – 12th – COMPOST AWARENESS WEEK www.compost.org.uk Aims to encourage people to take action and support composting at all scales and to use compost Global Citizenship 12th – 18th - CHRISTIAN AID WEEK www.christianaid.org.uk Global Citizenship/ Health 11th May: World Fairtrade Day www.wftday.org A celebration of Fairtrade Internationally Global Citizenship/ Health 12th – 19th - British Sandwich Week www.sandwich.org.uk The sandwich industry celebrates the British Sandwich. Send in details of your most unusual and favourite sandwich Health/ Transport/ Global Citizenship 9th – 13th - WALK TO LIVE WEEK www.walk2live.org.uk Annual sponsored walk run by, and for the benefit of primary schools. Walk 2 Live promotes the importance of healthy exercise while raising funds for the school/ community. Global Citizenship/ Health 17th FRUITY FRIDAY www.fruityfriday.org Annual awareness and fundraising campaign held by the World Cancer Research Fund to increase awareness of the link between nutrition and cancer awareness. Health/ Transport/ Global Citizenship 21st – 25th - WALK TO SCHOOL WEEK www.walktoschool.org.uk Encouraging pupils/ staff to walk to school School Grounds/ Health/ Global Citizenship 18th – 24th: National Wildlife Week www.wildlifetrusts.org Check out the website for more information

11. National What Day/ Week/ Month Link to your Eco School Work! JUNE 2011 Waste Minimisation/ Litter/ School Grounds 18th – 24th - RECYCLE NOW WEEK www.thebigrecycle.com Aims to encourage people to recycle more of their waste this summer School Grounds/ Health 10th – 14th - NATIONAL SCHOOL GROUNDS WEEK www.ltl.org.uk/schools_and_settings/programmes/primaryprogramme A week of focused activity encouraging schools to get outside and use their grounds Transport/ Health/ Global Citizenship 15th – 23rd - NATIONAL BIKE WEEK www.bikeweek.org.uk Designed to highlight real alternatives to the car for every day journeys School Grounds/ Global Citizenship 25th June – 1st July - NATIONAL INSECT WEEK www.nationalinsectweek.co.uk Bringing the fascinating world of insects closer to you Transport/ Global Citizenship/ Health 24th – 30th June - Child Safety Week www.capt.org.uk/csweek Raising awareness of the causes of childhood accidents

12. CONGRATULATIONS ECO SCHOOLS PROGRAMME Congratulations to the following schools who achieved an Eco School award last term. Bronze Award Silver Green Flag Fleur De Lys Primary School St James Primary School 2nd Green Flag Maesycwmmer Primary School 3rd Green Flag Libanus Primary School Pontlottyn Primary School Glyngaer Primary School Ynysddu Primary School Penllwyn Primary School Platinum Award Llanfabon Infants School If you require support with your eco school work or want to know if your ready to apply for your bronze, silver, green flag or platinum award, please contact: Tracy Evans, ESD Officer on 01495 235141 or email EVANSTA@caerphilly.gov.uk

13. Look who’s an Eco School in your cluster group - Share Ideas and Support Each Other School Eco School Award Bedwas High Green Flag (3rd) Bedwas Infants Green Flag (2nd) Bedwas Junior Green Flag (2nd) Graig Y Rhacca Primary Green Flag (2nd) Machen Primary Green Flag (2nd) Tyn Y Wern Primary Green Flag (3rd) School Eco School Award St Cenydd School Silver Cwmaber Infants Green Flag Cwmaber Junior Green Flag (3rd) Cwm Ifor Primary Silver Hendre Infants Silver Hendre Junior Bronze Hendredenny Park Primary Green Flag (3rd) Nantyparc Primary Green Flag Plasyfelin Primary Green Flag (3rd) School Eco School Award Blackwood Comprehensive Green Flag (2nd) Blackwood Primary Green Flag (3rd) Cefn Forest Primary Silver Fleur De Lys Primary Green Flag Pengam Primary Green Flag (2nd) School Eco School Award Trinity Fields School & Resource Centre Bronze

14. Look who’s an Eco School in your cluster group - Share Ideas and Support Each Other School Eco School Award Newbridge School Silver Abercarn Primary Green Flag Crumlin Primary Silver Cwmcarn Primary Green Flag (3rd) Pantside Primary Green Flag Pentwynmawr Primary Green Flag (2nd) Tynewydd Primary Green Flag (2nd) School Eco School Award Cwmcarn High Bronze School Eco School Award St Martins Comprehensive Green Flag (3rd) Cwrt Rawlin Primary Platinum St Helens Roman Catholic Green Flag (3rd) St James Primary Green Flag Rhydri Primary Green Flag (2nd) The Twyn School Green Flag (2nd) School Eco School Award Oakdale Comprehensive Bronze Rhiw-Syr-Dafydd Junior Silver Pontllanfraith Primary Silver Trinant Primary Silver

15. Look who’s an Eco School in your cluster group – Share Ideas and Support Each Other School Eco School Award Heolddu Comprehensive Green Flag (2nd) Aberbargoed Primary Bronze Deri Primary Green Flag (2nd) Gilfach Fargoed Primary Green Flag (3rd) Park Primary Green Flag St Gwladys Bargoed Platinum White Rose Primary Silver School Eco School Award Rhymney Comprehensive Green Flag (2nd) Abertysswg Primary Green Flag Fochriw Primary Green Flag Bryn Awel Primary Green Flag (2nd) Phillipstown Primary Bronze Pontlottyn Primary Green Flag (3rd) Upper Rhymney Primary Silver White Rose Primary Silver School Eco School Award Lewis Girls School Bronze Lewis School Silver Coed y Brain Primary Green Flag Cwm Glas Infants Silver Derwendeg Primary Green Flag Glyn-Gaer Primary Green Flag (3rd) Hengoed Primary Green Flag (2nd) Llancaeach Junior Green Flag (3rd) Llanfabon Infants Platinum Maesycwmmer Primary Green Flag (2nd) Tiryberth Primary Silver Ystrad Mynach Primary Silver Greenhill Primary Green Flag

16. Look who’s an Eco School in your cluster group - Share Ideas and Support Each Other School Eco School Award Risca Community Comprehensive Bronze Risca Primary Green Flag (2nd) Ty Isaf Infants Green Flag (3rd) Ty Sign Primary Silver Waunfawr Primary Silver School Eco School Award Pontllanfraith Comprehensive Bronze Argoed Primary Green Flag Bryn Primary Green Flag (2nd) Cwmfelinfach Primary Green Flag (2nd) Libanus Primary Green Flag (3rd) Markham Primary Green Flag (3rd) Penllwyn Primary Green Flag (3rd) Ynysddu Primary Green Flag (3rd) School Eco School Award Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni Bronze Ysgol Bro Sannon Silver YGG Fargoed Bronze YGG Caerffili Platinum YGG Castell Silver YG Bro Alta Bronze YG Cwm Gwyddon Green Flag YG Trelyn Green Flag (2nd) Ysgol Ifor Bach Silver Ysgol Y Lawnt Green Flag (2nd) Ysgol Cwm Derwen Bronze Ysgol Gymraeg Penalltau Silver

17. Fairtrade Schools Scheme Congratulations to the following schools who have achieved Fairtrade School status: Ysgol Y Lawnt – May 2011 Tir Y Berth Primary – July 2011 Hendredenny Park Primary – April 2012 Ysgol Gynradd Gymreag Caerffili – July 2012 Fochriw Primary School – August 2012 Cefn Fforest Primary School – November 2012 St James Primary School – May 2013 Schools need to achieve five goals to achieve Fairtrade School status, these are: 1. Set up a Fairtrade Steering group. (This can be linked to you Eco School Committee or School Council). 2. Adopt A Fairtrade Policy. 3. Commit to Fairtrade Products. 4. Learn about Fairtrade (Cover Fairtrade in at least two year groups, in at least three subjects across the school). 5. Take action for Fairtrade (Do at least one event or activity each term, including during Fairtrade Fortnight). We are running Fairtrade Teacher training sessions to support schools working on the Fairtrade Schools Scheme. For more information about the Fairtrade Scheme in the Caerphilly county borough please contact Tracy Evans, ESD Officer at EVANSTA@caerphilly.gov.uk

18. Do you have something you would like to be included in the next edition of Green Links? Achievements, forthcoming and successful events all welcome. Would you like to see your school in the ‘What have schools been up to!’ section. Promoting your achievements helps us to share good practice to schools in the Caerphilly county borough. Would you like to promote an future event or project. Please send any articles and photos by 5th July 2013 for issue 24 Autumn 2013. If you have any comments regarding the above information please contact: Tracy Evans, Education for Sustainable Development Officer on 01495 235141 or email : EVANSTA@caerphilly.gov.uk