ST FERGUS School helped launch the 2010 Green School Awards sponsored by TOTAL last week, with representatives from 11 other Buchan schools attending to discover more about the annual competition.
Green message: Local school pupils are joined by Councillor Anne Allan and Peter Littlewood of the Young People's trust for the Environment at the launch of the 2010 TOTAL Green School Awards at St Fergus School. Picture: Ken Taylor
School teams must enter a group project which will be pitted against other regional school entries, with winners entered in both a Scottish and UK-wide final.
The aim of the awards is to generate interest among young people in the environment and to raise awareness of the need for sustainable energy sources. It is run by the Young People's Trust for the Environment and supported by TOTAL.
St Fergus were the regional and Scottish champions of the competition last year, meaning 17 pupils from the winning team were flown down to London to attend the national finals.
The classmates entered a 'Save Energy' video, which showcased the children's efforts in caring for the environment by reducing the amount of energy used in school.
A group called the Energy Police checked the electricity meters daily and spread the energy-saving message to other pupils through a poster campaign.
They also switched off lights and issued warnings where lights had been left on.
Others interviewed the staff on their energy use in school and they even wrote and performed an energy-saving rap.
By the end of term they had managed to lower the school's use of energy, so their efforts paid off!
Primary 4/5 class teacher Karl Loney, told the Buchanie he was excited to get stuck in to this year's competition, particularly after the success of last year's winning team.
He said: "We are already excited for this years competition, it will be a whole new group of pupils taking part and we are ready to get stuck in, of course we have a hard act to follow after last year's win!"
