Sustainability Week – At Aspen Heights British School we believe in ensuring that our students understand the important role they have in protecting the planet. Our school has many different features that support the learning of sustainability both inside and outside the classroom, ensuring that students become conscious, environmentally friendly citizens. Supporting this ethos, we host a Sustainability Week at Aspen Heights every year. This is an annual event where our students learn so much about the environment and what we all can do to make a positive difference.
All our year groups carried out different activities and hands-on learning that was linked to sustainability. Our EYFS children learned about recycling, did some outdoor painting, and planted their own sunflower seeds! Our Primary students read Earth stories, while Year 1 wrote about endangered UAE animals and created awareness posters about animals that live in the mountains of the UAE. Our Year 4 designed animal shelters and Year 5 talked about the different environments we have in the UAE, while Year 6 had some fun with the green screen, recording their National disaster news reports on disasters they had researched.
As part of their learning, our Secondary pupils did a lot of activities in their Humanities class. Our Year 9 Saadiyat class focused on 7 Plants that could save the world. They investigated how researchers around the globe have unlocked more and more powers of the plant world, demonstrating that the solutions to some of our greatest social and environmental challenges—from hunger and poverty to pollution and global warming—may be found in their genes. Students also learnt about air-purifying plants like the rubber plant, the weeping fig, the peace lily and the bamboo plant, to name a few. Our Years 7 and 8 thoroughly enjoyed discussing long-term changes that could be made for the good of Mother Nature. To spread awareness among their peers, they created small postcards detailing their actions using cut-outs of leaves and took a pledge to support sustainability and save mother earth.
Some of our Secondary pupils Shahad, Mahra, Omar and Amer took part in a competition held by Emirates Environmental Group, as part of their Social Studies and Sustainability Week learning. They had a great time presenting and competing against 27 other schools in the UAE. The topic they discussed was the correlation between water and food security. Both our Secondary and Primary students visited our hydroponics greenhouse during the week. They learnt about the process of planting seeds and the materials required to help plants grow. All our children also visited our new Sensory Garden, which is made of all recycled and used materials.
The entire Sustainability Week was a great learning experience and a reminder of what we need to do as a community to help the environment. Teaching sustainability and creating environmental awareness within students helps to give them a deeper understanding and provides them with the skills needed to create a more sustainable future for all of us.
