Fifteen Isle of Wight primaries receive a share of Wightlink’s £10,000 Green Fund for Schools

Wightlink has announced that 15 Isle of Wight primary schools will receive a share of around £10,000 from the ferry company to support local environmental projects.

The schools – from all over the Island – are the first to benefit from Wightlink’s new Green Fund for Schools initiative. It has been set up to support projects that bring lasting environmental benefit to schools and their communities and help Islanders to live in a more sustainable way.

Among projects that will now go ahead, having qualified for the Wightlink funding, include some to reduce energy consumption, encourage and facilitate recycling and others which create new and improved habitats for wildlife.

In January 2022, Wightlink invited all Island primary schools to apply for funds to assist projects which sought to conserve nature, enhance biodiversity, encourage recycling, reduce the use of plastics and water or save energy.

Announcing the recipients of grants, Wightlink Chief Executive Keith Greenfield says he was impressed with both the number and quality of applications submitted.

“We had applications from almost half of the Island’s primary schools, which was a great response in the first year of the Green Fund for Schools initiative.

“We are pleased that a large majority of submissions met our criteria and look forward to working closely with the successful schools in the coming months to bring their projects to fruition.”

The primaries receiving money from Wightlink Green Fund for Schools 2022 are:

• Bembridge CE Primary School. For an energy-saving outdoor lighting project.
• Brighstone CE Primary School. For a wildflower meadow, native woodland, mini habitat and vegetable garden.
• Carisbrooke Primary School. For recycling bins, compost bins and water butts.
• Cowes Primary School. To increase biodiversity on nearby woodland.
• Dover Park Primary School, Ryde. To provide ‘donate and take locker stations’ to recycle uniforms and reduce waste.
• Godshill Primary School. For glass and paper recycling units.
• Holy Cross Catholic Primary School, East Cowes. For a large pond area and to increase habitat in a nearby copse.
• Nine Acres Primary School, Newport. For compost bins made from recycled pallets and tools to move waste and compost.
• Shalfleet CE and Yarmouth CE Primary Schools. For a ‘recycling more’ initiative at each school, including wormery, composter, recycling bins and gardening tools.
• St Saviour’s Catholic Primary School, Totland. To increase recycling of waste paper in the school.
• St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School. For native pond plants to enhance biodiversity.
• Summerfields Primary School, Newport.  To enhance the biodiversity of the school forest area and reuse resources.
• Wootton Community Primary School. For various projects to encourage biodiversity including pond planting, bird feeders, planting and bat boxes.
• Wroxall Primary School. For a vegetable allotment, wildflowers, composter and water butts.

Elizabeth Grainger, head teacher of Yarmouth and Shalfleet Primary Schools, which both submitted successful bids to the fund for recycling schemes, says she couldn’t wait to get started on the projects.

“Our federated schools are passionate about caring for the environment around us so we are delighted to be able to undertake this new recycling and gardening project thanks to the support of Wightlink.”

Picture caption: Yarmouth CE Primary: School lead Liam Roberts and Martin Gulliver from Wightlink with pupils Izy Bishop, Scarlett Plumley and Summer Plumley 

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