Thinking big, thinking green

FIND yourself on the beaches of the Moray Firth, east of Inverness, on a Wednesday afternoon and you’ll likely spot Gordonstoun pupils combing for rubbish; in Hampshire, Bedales students trawl the on-site clothes swap shop to clinch pre-loved bargains; and at Downe House in Berkshire girls have been building log piles as ‘bug hotels’. Nearly 60% of the young people asked about climate change for Bath University’s global survey last year said they were ‘worried’ or ‘extremely worried’ about it, so there is little surprise that change is afoot in schools, starting at village primary-school level and with the rise and rise of forest schools.

‘It’s very much a part of the children’s psyche, so different). ‘I remember learning about greenhouse gases and rainforests far away, but it didn’t seem real, whereas they really feel it. I think educationally, if they feel something, they’re more likely to understand it and do something about it.’