Pupils from all year groups at Fairfield got stuck into numerous eco- activities this week to celebrate Earth Day 2024.

Earth Day has been celebrated annually for over 50 years to bring awareness to environmental causes and to educate on the importance of creating a more sustainable planet.

Many lessons on the day were based around environmental awareness and the children made eco-pledges involving sustainability acts they are going to work towards. The school’s Eco-Club organised an eco-themed orienteering session, as well as arranging for each year groups’ food waste to be weighed in the dining hall at lunchtime. Pre-Prep pupils also got involved by selling ‘save the bee’ goody bags, with all donations going to the school charity The Marine Conservation Society.

The activities and specialised sessions helped to bring an awareness of how pupils’ every day actions can have a huge impact on the environment.

The theme for this year’s Earth Day was Planet Vs Plastics, and in support of this, pupils and staff aimed to buy and use the least number of plastic items possible on the day. Additionally, Fairfield has launched a competition in support of this theme; to design an invention to help combat the problem of ocean plastic. The competition will remain open for entries until STEAM week (20 May), during which a winner will be selected.

Head of Geography and sustainability lead at Fairfield Prep, Mrs Alves, organised the exciting eco-activities. She said: “It was amazing to see how involved and enthusiastic the children were with all the eco-activities and how much the children care about the welfare for our planet. Given the opportunity and resources to make a difference, the children excelled in their passion, innovation, and effort to make a difference.”