Eco Awards for Inspiring Greener Living

Release date: 14 Nov 2007

Loch Fyne Oysters supports Eco Awards

Eco Award for Inspiring Greener Living.

This new award, given by the charity the Eco Trust, was launched to celebrate the work of an individual Scot who's inspiring others to live more environmentally-friendly lifestyles.

The Eco Trust awards have been supported by the Loch Fyne Oysters Trust. LFO nominated two people for the short list – Fiona Hamilton from Inveraray Primary School and Minty MacKay from Ardalanish on Mull.

The winner was decided by votes from the public and the results were announced on Tuesday 13th November at an event held at The Lighthouse in Glasgow.

LFO was delighted to attend the event and hear the award given to Fiona Hamilton and Inveraray School. Fiona attended the award ceremony along with colleagues and pupils from the school,

Fiona Hamilton has been concerned about the environment since she was a child, after watching a Blue Peter report on aerosols and the ozone layer.

Now a primary school teacher, she encourages pupils to learn about and get involved in environmental issues. The school grounds have been developed into a wildlife haven with vegetable plots, the children helping with tree-planting and building willow dens, while the school has its own recycling scheme and Eco Committee. This year, Fiona along with Loch Fyne Oysters  and Argyll Agricultural Forum set up a farmers' market to be run by her class. All this has prompted Argyll & Bute Council to join the Soil Association Food For Life scheme for school meals.

"It's important in today's society to reconnect children with their environment," she says. "We look for opportunities to offer the children real experiences wherever possible, rather than learning from textbooks. For example, the farmers' market gave them real depth to their understanding of the connections between the farm and their plates."

The school has seen parental involvement greatly improve since the school grounds were developed alongside. "The whole school staff - teachers, support staff, janitor and catering - is involved in trying to improve the school's contribution to sustainability," says Fiona, who has taken continuing professional development courses with the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) and in Forest Schools leader training.

"Sustainable development education is a core feature of our school aims and ethos."