Six schools, one question: inside Truro School Prep’s Eco Conference

Old plastic sweet tubs, homemade insect hotels and a closer look at fungi. It was not a typical school morning in Truro, and that was rather the point.

How can we protect the natural world around us? Pupils from six local schools spent the morning of Tuesday (3 November) working on that question at Truro School Prep‘s first Eco Conference, sharing ideas, trying out practical solutions and finding out how they can make a difference in their own communities.

Who came along

Pupils from Devoran, Bosvigo, Chacewater, Perranarworthal and St Mary’s (Truro) joined Truro School Prep’s Eco Club (Years 3 to 6), the Year 6 Eco Committee and the Truro School Senior Eco Committee for the morning.

The event follows Truro School’s third Distinction in a row in the Eco-Schools Green Flag Award, announced this year.

“If we all do small things”

Mrs Knight, Head of DT at Truro School Prep, opened the conference by explaining why events like this matter. She described them as a way to share ideas, empower educators and inspire the next generation.

“If we all do small things, we can make big changes,” she told the group.

The Senior Eco Committee then spoke about its commitment to improving sustainability across the Senior School site. This year, the focus is on waste and recycling.

From sweet tubs to renewable energy

After that, pupils rotated around six hands-on sessions led by contributors from across Cornwall.

Matt from One Blue Eye helped pupils identify different plastics and ways to cut down on them, turning old plastic sweet tubs into a ruler for life.

Amy and Lizzie from Cornwall National Landscape, representing the Landscape Connections Cornwall project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, led a nature activity that challenged pupils to see the world through different eyes.

Claudia and Jane from GEL Energy (Geothermal Engineering Ltd) taught pupils about renewable energy and the extraction of sustainable minerals. Their session set out to show that businesses can work with education at every age, and that science can be creative.

Insect hotels, fungi and Eco Detectives

Anna and Steve, Countryside Rangers from Truro City Council, helped pupils build an insect hotel to take home and answered questions about the nature on their doorstep.

Kate and Jamie from Falfungi explained why fungi and mycelium matter in the natural world.

And the Truro School Eco Committee turned pupils into Eco Detectives, exploring a street to spot environmental problems and come up with solutions.

What happens next

Informal networking gave pupils the chance to talk with the contributors and with each other.

The morning closed with a debrief, with pupils reflecting on what they had learned and what they will take back to their own schools.