Ettrick primary school in Selkirk is a perfect example of how a few people can make a big change. With just six pupils, their action team the Green Mean Eco-machine is made up of the entire school.

The team have run various challenges surrounding the Global Action Plan online programme Appetite for Action.

And their six pupils have been working hard to Get Growing which includes projects such as:

• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – holding an Eco School meeting and creating a list of 11 items they could recycle to use in their garden. This included planting seedlings in a range of different recycled containers such as plastic cups, yoghurt pots.
• Composting Action – creating compost for their organic garden by collecting organic waste.
• Repair and Prepare – with the help of parents and the ranger from a local country estate they prepared raised beds for planting and repaired fences to keep the hares and rabbits out.

The branches and stones all around the fencing will also make a very good mini beast home for the ants and bugs. Student, Ettrick School

• Planting Frenzy Day – the Green, Mean Eco-machine spent a day planting seedlings, building indoor greenhouses to keep them in as well as planting potatoes and onions in the new garden. They are now growing around 40 different types of vegetable as well as many different flowers in individual patches.  Check out their rhubarb jelly recipe below.
• Green Market Day – selling the produce they have grown. Being 18 miles from the nearest town the pupils had to come up with an exciting advertising campaign. They designed and produced posters and flyers, adverts in local publications and even an announcement on local radio.

This enthusiastic team from a tiny school on the Scottish borders have shown huge motivation and progress in learning about the ideas of sustainability through their Get Growing scheme.

They have produced an exciting array of produce and spread the word through their local community about the work they have done, showing that small can be sustainable.

Rhubarb jelly recipe

750g rhubarb cut into small chunks
110-150g caster sugar
400ml water
1 orange, juice only
gelatine leaves

Place the rhubarb, sugar,water & orange juice in a pan and bring to boil.  Simmer for 8-10 min until rhubarb very tender.  Strain cooked rhubarb through sieve with muslin cloth.  Pour the juice into a jug. 

Soak amount of gelatine leaves as per instruction on the packet for amount of rhubarb juice.  Gently warm rhubarb juice in a clean pan.  Pour jelly mixture into moulds and  place in fridge for 1-2 hours.  You can spoon some of the remaining cooked rhubarb on the jelly too.

Good luck and enjoy!!!

See more about this story on the BBC News website.

Find out more at the Appetite for Action website.

Contact us

Contact us at schools@globalactionplan.org.uk.

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