Schools Low Carbon Day - invite your school to sign up (and leave your top carbon-footprint-reducing tips here!)

[onebatmother]

If you're feeling fired up by Copenhagen, you could do worse than get your children's school to sign up for Schools Low Carbon Day. The campaign aims to get as many schools as possible to set aside the morning of 24th June 2010 to inspire children and their families to cut their carbon footprint.

Tell the chaps at Schools Low Carbon Day the name of your school, and they'll send them an email / letter on your behalf. The sooner the better - the longer schools have to plan, the more likely they are to sign up...

But wait! We know lots of you have already worked out ways to reduce your family's carbon foot-print - any chance you could tell us about them here please? All welcome, even if they seem a bit obvious to you. Top Tips will be going on a letter which participating schools can print off to send home to parents.

[pofacedandproud]

We don't use a tumble drier anymore - have a hanger on a pulley over the stairs which is great for sheets and duvet covers. We don't fly for holidays. Dh is constantly reminding me to turn off lights upstairs. We walk to school. We walk to the shops when we can. We do an Ocado delivery which uses a green van, apparently, and the one van delivering to many houses is presumably better than lots of cars going to shops?

We use energy saving lightbulbs. Dh and I shower not bath. We have a compost bin in the garden for veg and fruit peelings. I've just ordered a large recycling bin as box was overflowing. Er, can't think of anymore, except we'd love to have solar panels and wish the govt would give more assistance with them.

I will mention Schools Low Carbon Day to our headmistress. She's the kind that would like to give permission before being sent something...

[onebatmother]

lol po. Thanks for your tips - blimey you're doing well. Unless you have harrier jet for country jaunts etc.

[pofacedandproud]

Well yes there is that. Actually dh does a hell of a lot of road miles for work and we'd love to have a hybrid but of course it is too expensive. Not sure what effect it would have on our footprint either.

[tatt]

Cavity Wall insulation - the government grants are a substantial part of the cost and you'll make good savings on fuel.

Low energy lights, recycling box, compost bin.

Donate unwanted items (like some Christmas presents) to the school parents association, recycle uniform to the PA when you outgrow it.

Visit the local council website and find out where your nearest recycling centre is, you may be suprised by what they recycle as they may not have publicised changes (our doesn't). Some will now recycle all the batteries children get through at Christmas -but buy rechargeables, they can be used in almost anything that is used often, even if it says not suitable. Don't put them in your fire alarm though.

Large pieces of cardboard can be given away on freecycle to those who have allotments or use them to cover your own veg patch to keep weeds down.

Anyone can grow food, even if its just a pot with herbs in (and by the way plants are often sold by the PA, that would get you started).

And I'd like to say - big cars and 3 holidays a year are no longer a status symbol, unless you like being seen as greedy and wasteful. But the head would never pass that on.

[pofacedandproud]

we have a recycling batteries box at our school

[FranSanDisco]

I've sent in dc's school's details. I think the children would love this. Hope the Head agrees {blush]

[onebatmother]

yes, ds is the climate lecturer monitor in our house [guilty]. Which is brill really, his school are v clued up, have a Green Team etc.

[AnInginAneAnA]

We walk to school.
Have our own hens, and grow fruit and veg in the garden, so we cut down on food miles.
We have a wood burning stove, in which we use waste wood. We have a solar panel, which heats water, for some of the year.
We have: no tumble drier (sigh) & no central heating, brrrrr.

We also don't have a t.v, so one less item using energy and we have one computer for the whole family - though I am sure that will change when teenagers inhabit my house.

[Mincepiedermama]

We have a wood burning stove which does all our radiators, hot water and cooking. It also dries clothes and boils the kettle. I love it. DH says it heats you twice over because the chopping and carrying of wood is good warming exercise.

We're gradually putting secondary glazing on all the windows one by one as and when we can afford. In the meantime, and for this winter, DH has fitted clear perspex sheets onto the window frames with special clasps. An excellent temporary solution if you can't afford secondary glazing.

No-one should under estimate the difference made by good insulation. DH has done the loft, the cellar and stuffed it under floors.

We are looking in to getting solar panels which will mean we don't have to light the Rayburn in the summer so much. At the moment they are still way out of reach price-wise and the grants are paltry.

[throckenholt]

realizing that recycling is not the best option - not using in the first place is best - and recycling is the least worst alternative.

Someone mentioned batteries for toys - get stuff that doesn't need batteries !

Reviewing your driving - do you really need to drive 20 odd miles to the next town to get that luxury item you want ?

Don't fly (that's a biggie).

Wear a jumper and turn the central heating down. Increase insulation in the roof.

Cut down on your meat consumption - very co2 intensive (plus methane as a by product !).

Grow your own and local produce - cuts down food miles.

[BlauerWeihnachtsengel]

dd1 got hold of this book and has been hectoring us ever since. She was most disappointed to find out that we're doing a lot of it already. One car between us, supplemented by yearly passes for public transport, bikes and shank's pony. Low energy lightbulbs everywhere, double glazing, recycling bottles, paper, packaging (a special scheme operating in Germany), and organics on the compost heap. The water heater only heats water on demand, and we too only shower. My next step would be to get solar panels in as well, but you need a large initial investment...

That link is great. DD1 has to do a science project in spring and has chosen positive and negative aspects of C02 (no C02, no cakes!). She was looking for a carbon footprint calculator specifically for kids, and this one is perfect.