Sustainability and Research
Sustainability- 'Green Hearts, Green Hands'
At St Bernadette’s, we firmly believe that it is paramount to prepare our pupils as global citizens: ecologically, economically, culturally, and spiritually. In order to know more and do more, we ensure that we are not only aware of the latest research and thinking, but also take an active role in it. Our involvement in the ‘Our City, Our World‘ programme has enabled staff and pupils to learn effectively about sustainability, climate change and the environment. It has informed, inspired and influenced children to be passionate about the natural world and want to do their best to protect it.
Research
We have also worked with the University of Sussex and conducted research with schools in West Bengal, India, and lowland coastal Ecuador. The work with the University, began with an exchange of ‘objects that mattered’ to pupils in all three countries. It included a diverse range of objects, from painted pots made from the seed of the Guayacán salero tree, associated with the critically endangered Great Green Macaw, to chocolate made from local cacao, and a mass of single-use plastics and litter! Pupils were invited to come up with, and deliberate on, philosophical questions in response to the received ‘gifts’. This process evoked open questions and an exploration of pupils’ own ethical dilemmas.
