Sidmouth primary schools participate in Great Big Green Week

Devon's Sidmouth Church of England Primary School and Highweek Community Primary School in Newton Abbott linked arms with Taking Care Personal Alarms for the occasion.

The week was filled with interactive activities to instil an understanding of sustainability amongst students and the community.

Students from 21 classes at both schools engaged in recycling projects, learning how to conserve animal habitats by reducing litter.

Taking Care Personal Alarms marked the week by training its employees in environmental sustainability and incorporating sustainable practices into its business strategy.

As part of this plan, Taking Care and their Green Team organised a recycled litter art competition, promoting creative expression while fostering environmental consciousness.

The company's employees visited the primary schools, assisting the students in making beautiful art pieces from recycled materials inspired by their class-named animals and rivers.

This enhanced their creativity and emphasised the need to repurpose materials that would otherwise be wasted.

Browns' Kitchen Bakery and Winstones' Bookshop, two Sidmouth businesses, provided vouchers for the winners of the art competition.

Winners of the art competition received vouchers (Image: Taking Care)

Mrs Coombes, a teacher at Sidmouth School, said: "Thank you to Taking Care for providing us with such an invaluable opportunity!"

Hannah Barnard, HR manager at Taking Care, said: "It was incredibly rewarding to engage with the students about the environment and assist them in transforming their ideas into creative artworks.

"We awarded the competition winners with book vouchers for local shops and bakeries to promote local shopping.

"Thank you to both schools for welcoming us, and to our employees who volunteered their time."

Taking Care introduced several internal programmes at their sites to encourage sustainability.

These included encouraging employees to exchange books, participating in a lunchtime litter-picking competition, and setting up a toy library to promote reuse and reduce waste.

In their commitment to sustainability, they have recycled 3.2 tonnes of confidential paper since the start of 2024, saving 49 trees.

This act demonstrates that significant changes can be made through everyday actions, like reviewing product packaging, educating young people, and community engagement.