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Chater Junior School

Sustainability

Our Green Promise: Climate Action at Chater Junior School.

Everyone is aware that our world is facing a crisis caused by pollution, a lack of recycling and poor waste management and energy efficiencies and that unless we do something about this the world that we currently know will become a very different place for our children.

Chater Junior School’s vision is to develop our sustainable literacy in a way that inspires and empowers environmental awareness amongst the whole school community, working towards the commitment to be net-zero in 2030, in order to create a more sustainable future for our children. 

Please see our Climate Action Plan for further information.

climate action plan 2025.pdf

June 2026

World Environment Day

Mrs Pratt led a thoughtful assembly for World Environment Day, exploring why our environment matters and how we can work together to protect it.

This year’s theme is:​ Climate Action - Helping to reduce climate change and global warming.  

We need a healthy environment to:​

✔️ Grow our food​

✔️ Stay safe and well​

✔️ Live happy, healthy lives

The planet is facing big challenges:​

⚠️ Pollution – from cars, factories and rubbish​

⚠️ Climate change – the Earth is getting hotter​

⚠️ Deforestation – trees are being cut down​

⚠️ Plastic waste – ending up in oceans and harming animal

We can all help protect the planet!​

✅ Recycle paper, plastic, and cans ♻️​

✅ Save water — turn off the tap 🚿​

✅ Turn off lights when not in use 💡​

✅ Use less plastic — say no to straws & bags 🛍️​

✅ Walk or cycle instead of using the car 🚲​

Mrs Pratt also launched a whole‑school competition to design a poster reminding everyone to switch off the lights when leaving a room. The winning design will be displayed around the school as an important reminder for us all.

Please hand entries to your class Eco Warrior by Friday 12th June.

There are two  local community events taking place as part of Great Big Green Week:

  • Green Festival, Watford High Street – Sunday 7th June
  • Green Heart Event, St Mary’s Church – Thursday 11th June (evening).

 

April 2026

Eco Warriors Create Our New School Eco Code

Our Eco Warriors met this week to write a brand‑new Eco Code for our school. This Eco Code is a pledge created by the team to show our whole school community’s commitment to protecting and caring for the environment.

The Eco Warriors demonstrated excellent collaboration as they discussed ideas, shared their thinking, and worked together to shape the final code. Their Eco Code highlights our three environmental priorities for this year: sustainable travel, encouraging biodiversity, and saving energy.

We are proud of their thoughtful leadership and the positive impact they are making across our school.

 

During our assembly on Tuesday 28th April, our team of Eco Warriors shared their recent visit to help plant a wildflower meadow with the Green Heart of Watford project at St Mary’s Church. This exciting community initiative supports local biodiversity and gives our pupils the chance to make a real difference to their environment.

The Eco Warriors also presented three simple and inexpensive ways families can encourage nature into their homes and gardens. If you try any of their ideas, please let your class Eco Warrior know or upload a photo to Seesaw.

We would love to see how our school community is helping wildlife and nature to flourish.

On Wednesday 22nd April, our team of amazing Eco Warriors was invited by the Green Heart of Watford to help with some wildflower planting in the green space near St Mary’s Church. First, the children explored the existing meadow areas using an identification key to spot wildflowers and insects. We spotted daisies, Californian poppies and cornflowers, among many others. Next, the children prepared an area of ground ready for the seeds, and finally we planted the area with a mix of wildflower seeds. Our “Chater Meadow” will hopefully be in bloom later this summer. The volunteers from Green Heart of Watford, Sarah and Andrew, were so impressed by the children’s hard work and fantastic behaviour. Well done, Eco Warriors!

March 2026

Big Walk and Wheel Week 2026 
We participated in the 'Big Walk and Wheel Week' to promote active, eco-friendly travel to school. Active travel includes walking, scooting, cycling and park and stride (parking and walking the last 10 minutes). For two weeks, (16th - 27th March 2026) we logged the journeys made to school by every pupil at Chater Junior. We made a total of 1,418 active journeys and 78% of the journeys made were active and eco-friendly. We came placed 95th out of 1073 schools which is a fantastic achievement.  Well done to everyone who managed to walk, scoot or cycle to school during this time. 

January 2026

Wow - The Walk to School Challenge
This month our Eco Warriors launched their new environmental project, Wow - The Walk to School Challenge. WOW is delivered by Living Streets, the UK charity for everyday walking. 
Every day, the children will log on a tracker how they travelled to school and if they actively travel at least once every week, they will earn a WOW badge each month. Active travel includes walking, wheeling, cycling, scooting, 'Park and Stride' (parking 10 minutes away and walking the last part) or hopping off public transport a couple of stops early. 
 
What are the benefits of walking to school? 

• Children feel happier and healthier 

• They arrive at school refreshed and ready to learn 

• Helps reduce congestion and pollution at the school gates 

What if we can’t walk to school? 

You could ‘Park and Stride’ to help your child earn their WOW badges. Park approximately ten minutes away from the school and walk/wheel the rest of the way to make their journey count as ‘Park and Stride’. If using public transport, you could ‘hop off’ a stop or two before your school to count as an ‘active’ travel journey.

What is a WOW badge? 

There are 6 badges to be earned from February 2026 to July 2026. The badges are made in Cornwall from material that was otherwise destined for landfill, including fridge trays, plastic plates and yoghurt pot off-cuts.

We hope you will support us with this project and making active travel part of your school routine. We can't wait to see the children wearing their badges with pride! 

December 2025

Following their exciting trip to The Serge Hill Project, our Eco Warriors have created a Bug Hotel in our wildlife garden. At the Serge Hill Project, the children learnt the importance of creating insect friendly environments and were inspired to make sure we encouraged wildlife to our school garden. They worked hard with Mrs Wylie to construct the Bug Hotel and are looking forward to monitoring the insect activity in the warmer months. Well done Eco Warriors - thank you for being such amazing ambassadors for our school! 

November 2025

Cut your Carbon Campaign 

We’re excited to announce that our school is taking part in the Eco-Schools 'Cut Your Carbon' campaign. This initiative encourages pupils, staff, and families to take simple, practical steps to reduce carbon emissions and protect our planet.

 

This week our amazing Eco Warriors launched the campaign with an assembly challenging the whole school community to complete 6 small carbon cutting activities at home with friends and family. 

 

 

These 6 challenges are:

 

  1. Veggie Vibes - Make 3 evening meals plant based across the month
  2. Ditch the Drive - Make 3 journeys active across the month
  3. Meal Plan- Meal plan to reduce food waste for one week
  4. Cool it - Lower your washing machine temperature to 30 degrees for 3 washes across the month
  5. Device Free - Have a 'device free' day
  6. Drop it Like It's Hot - Drop your heating by 1 degree for a week. 

 

Try to complete all 6 challenges as a family over the month of November. All pupils will have a checklist to record the challenges they have competed. There will be certificates awarded to all those who complete the challenge and bring their completed checklist to their Eco Warrior representative.

 

The Eco Warriors will then use this information to calculate our school community's carbon savings. 

 

Thank you for supporting this important campaign. We can't wait to hear how you get on! 

October 2025


🌿 Eco Warriors in Action: Serge Hill Project Visit 🌿

On Thursday 16th October, our Eco Warriors embarked on an inspiring visit to the Serge Hill Project in Abbots Langley, home to over 2,000 plant species. Accompanied by Mrs Khindey and Mrs Wylie, the group explored nature’s wonders and deepened their understanding of environmental stewardship.

Rachel, the Educational Events Coordinator, ignited our passion for protecting the planet through hands-on activities including a Bio Blitz, Making a Bug Snug, and walking  an edible trail. The experience empowered our Exo Warriors with practical knowledge and fresh ideas to support sustainability at school.

The Eco Warriors will be busy translating their learning into real action—developing sustainability plans and leading initiatives to help our school care for the environment. As part of our OPAL lunchtime programme, they’ll be teaming up with Mrs Wylie to lead the Making a Bug Snug activity. Watch this space for updates!



🌍 Our First Eco Competition! 🌍

We’re thrilled to announce our very first Eco Competition entry—an exciting opportunity for our pupils to showcase their passion for the planet. Submitted to Hertfordshire County Council, this marks a proud moment in our journey towards sustainability and pupil-led change.

Watch this space to see if one of our brilliant changemakers is selected… fingers crossed for Chater Junior!

September 2025


🌱 Introducing Our New Eco Warriors! 🌱

We’re proud to welcome Kiki, Hanaan, Kainaat, Aaliyah, Alizeh, Eesa, Qasim, and Isaac as our new team of Eco Warriors. Passionate about protecting the planet and improving our school environment, these pupils are ready to lead the way in sustainability.

Working closely with Mrs Ellen, they’ll meet regularly to plan eco-friendly initiatives and track the impact of their actions—turning ideas into measurable change. Watch this space as they inspire us all to think greener, act smarter, and care deeper.