Students  

We would love you to get involved in sustainability at Reading School. Have a look through the website and see what you’d like to get involved in! If you have any more ideas, please let us know.  

Teacher Contact: Dr Young kyoung@reading-school.co.uk 

Sustainability prefect: Keegan Barretto v00192@reading-school.co.uk 

Follow us on Instagram @reading_school_sustainability and keep an eye on this website for upcoming events and stories of sustainability from Reading School.  

Parents and families 

Do you work in a sustainability role and can offer our students any opportunities in sustainability? We are actively seeking external speakers on sustainability who can present a lecture, smaller-focussed seminar, workshop or experiences. If you work in the field of sustainability and would like to inspire our students, please contact Dr Young. 

At home with your family 

Sustainability is for everyone. It’s easy to look at sustainability websites and feel overwhelmed by the number of small changes that you can make which will collectively make a big difference. We’ve chosen 10 things you can do at home to get started on your sustainability journey. I think you’ll be surprised how many you do already!  

1. Are all your lights using LEDs? LED lights use less energy and therefore reduce your demand on the national grid and save you money.  

2. Take shorter showers and switch from baths to showers when possible. This uses less water, reducing our demand on a scarce resource.  

3. Wash your clothes at 30 degrees to save energy by heating the water.  

4. Reduce single-use plastic – carry small fabric shopping bags to put your items in. 

5. Recycle and reuse – Are you aware of the recycling opportunities your council offers? This includes food waste. Can you see on the council website where your waste goes? 

6. Make sustainable choices when food shopping – is the fish caught sustainably? Could you eat less meat in your diet? Raising animals is one of the largest producers of methane, a greenhouse gas which contributes to climate change. 

7. Can you avoid products with palm oil? Huge areas of tropical rainforest are cut down to make way for palm oil plantations. This means less carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere via photosynthesis.  

8. Go paperless – Can you switch your bills on online statements and bills to reduce the deforestation to create paper? 

9. Plant bee-friendly plants in your garden. This creates a haven for biodiversity.  

10. This spring, try planting vegetables in a pot! Potatoes and carrots are good for first timers. This highlights the importance of choosing locally grown food and reducing food miles.  

Ready to go further? Check out The Good Housekeeping guide to greener living.  

The RSPB offers a range of Wild Challenges which we work through at school. There is also one available for families to do! Wild Challenge for families