Eco-Schools

Please find below some of the exciting projects our Eco-Schools group have been involved in. 

Men's Shed

The EcoCommittee went along to the Glenrothes Men’s Shed on Wednesday afternoon to see where our bird boxes are to be made for a future Action Earth project. Working with the community is an essential part of acquiring continued EcoSchools green flag status.

Mr McElroy, a member of the Men’s Shed, showed our Ecowarriors the kind of tools required to create a variety of bird boxes for various species. The pupils had a very informative talk and have even begun to think of other things which can be done in future. As well as this we were shown round their poly tunnel where we were able to sample grapes, tomatoes and other freshly grown foods.

It is envisaged that the bird boxes will be hung around outside the school area and what we can't use we will donate to the Rotary Club of Glenrothes for their Riverside project. All in all - an excellent afternoon! We'd like to say a special thanks to Mr McElroy!

- Atlas Wishart 

Bulb Planting Day

Auchmuty High School, Fife Council, the Glenrothes Rotary Club, Action Earth Volunteering Matters and the Lomond Centre recently joined together to plant over 6000 spring & summer bulbs along the public path to the front of the school on Tuesday.

This was a joint community action project to bring more colour and biodiversity to the Auchmuty area as part of the maintenance of Auchmuty's future Eco-Schools status.

"This was an excellent and enjoyable community project which was in the planning for months" said Mr Fox. "Our Environmental Science students suggested bulb planting as a possibility last term and so we got to work with the Lomond Centre, Fife Council and the Glenrothes Rotary club to finalise details, beginning just after the summer holidays. Our first job was to raise about £2000 and what we've done is improve the biodiversity of the grass areas to the front of the school for the benefit of the entire community. Action Earth Volunteering Matters also helped with the contributions." "We were delighted with the weather on Tuesday!! After storm Babet and more bad weather coming our way, we managed to plant as many bulbs as we did in the window of opportunity afforded us. We were so lucky!"

In the next few years we should see bands and beds of colour all along the path, from the subway at the Lomond Centre to the entrance to the school. This will only increase in size every other year and be even more colourful. There are many types of bulbs in there which should bring lovely combinations of all sorts of colour from February to July every year from now on. The bees and other pollinators will flourish because of this as well as it looking increasingly spectacular for the community in Auchmuty.

"I'd like to thank Janet Land at the Lomond Centre, Fraser Nicol and the men at Fife Council, David Cooper et al at the Glenrothes Rotary Club, Robert Henderson at Action Earth, our Head Teacher and all the pupils who got involved planting the 8,600 bulbs for the benefit of our entire community".

Here is a short video showcasing the bulb planting in action:

Schools for Nature Award

Eco-Schools Green Flag Status

Auchmuty High School's Eco-Schools Working Group worked relentlessly over the last couple of years, through COVID and all the many difficulties that came with it, to finally succeed in their goal of achieving Eco-Schools status.

AHS has now received their Green Flag and some of the pupils involved, our excellent janitors, along with a few members of the Eco-Committee, gathered yesterday for a photograph which was taken for Fife Council.

Here they are celebrating this prestigious international award.

Herb Project

As part of a cross curricular project, Mr Fox's S3 Environmental Science group and Mrs Spark's classes worked together to grow and prepare fresh herbs for use in the Home Economics department. The first harvest yielded a nice crop of oregano, basil and parsley.

Growing fresh herbs in the school not only cuts down on costs but also the carbon footprint when buying them from the shops. It's also a valuable learning opportunity for pupils to study how herbs actually grow, the cultures they are often associated with and their general versatility for cooking.

The S3 Environmental Science classes have also planted some mint and some different kinds of parsley which should be germinated by the beginning of next term. The pupils have attached a timer to a state of the art grow cube within the lab so that this can all automatically kick start the next batch of fresh herbs.

Congratulations to everyone involved Eco-Schools HERB Project!

Carbon Literacy Project

Congratulations to our S3 Environmental Science class who have achieved the internationally recognised Carbon Literacy Certificate which has just been awarded by Keep Scotland Beautiful.

The course involved an in depth study of what is happening on our planet today, with a focus on recognising environmental issues and how we are preparing ourselves through technology, science and political processes to solve these problems. Pupils' work had to be externally assessed and pass very rigorous standards. 

COP26

The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) was a fantastic opportunity for the youth work sector to engage Scotland's young people in the climate emergency discussion.

One of our pupils Elysabeth Whyte, was invited to attend the event along with 3 others from Fife to consult about what schools in Scotland could do in order to play a larger part in promoting Climate Change awareness.

Well done Elysabeth for representing Auchmuty High school at this pivotal historic occasion!