Eco friendly family learning

Story: Naseem, parent at Whiteways Primary School

A group of parents at Whiteways School have done an amazing Family Learning course called Eco Monster.

The course was about the impact that rubbish and litter have on the environment and what we can do about it. As part of the course we went outside into the surrounding area of the community and we were shocked at what we saw. We found a mattress, nappies, food containers, wrappers, food and glass bottles which should be in the household bins but were on the street.

We involved our own children who attend Whiteways School. With them we tallied up all the rubbish found in the street. Our children were excited to be involved and then shocked to see the rubbish. The surrounding affected areas were Whiteways Road and Earl Marshal Road near Skinnerthorpe Road.

The course taught us that rubbish can take many thousands of years to decompose and that means it can get into the food chain which affects us all. Together we learned that to change things we have to follow the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. In one of the classes we worked with a local company who recycle aluminium cans into new objects. They came into school and families were able to see the process and make things.

For the future, we need to see more bins in the surrounding area, and all over the wider city. People need to be educated to love their environment. After all we have to live here.