18 June 2010
Employees from EDF Energy in Doxford joined forces with schools in the North East to plant hundreds of trees to celebrate Green Britain Day.
Pupils, parents, teachers and EDF Energy employees planted saplings at eight schools across the region on Thursday June 17.
Green Britain Day is a day of celebration for Team Green Britain, a growing movement of hundreds of thousands of people and groups brought together by EDF Energy, through a shared commitment to lowering Britain’s carbon footprint. EDF Energy, the UK’s largest producer of low carbon electricity, has worked with London 2012, the Eden Project, Global Action Plan, and Eco-Schools to organise a summer of activities to inspire people to live a lower carbon lifestyle.
More than a 9,000 schools across the country have signed up to EDF Energy’s programme for Greener schools at www.jointhepod.org and EDF Energy wants Green Britain Day to inspire them to become more sustainable Around 100 schools took part in the tree-planting across the country. In all, thousands of saplings were planted.
Staff at EDF Energy in Doxford also used Green Britain Day to start their own vegetable plots. During June 17 the EDF Energy garden was transformed into an allotment area where vegetables, fruit and herbs will be grown. There were also recipe cards available to show staff the wide range of meals that can be made from foods that they can easily grow at home.
Kevin Gatens, head of customer contact centre North East at EDF Energy, said: “Climate change is a challenge which we can only overcome by working together. As the first sustainability partner of London 2012, EDF Energy wants to use London 2012 to inspire young people to do their bit for the environment and to get their parents and those in their local community to do the same.
“Staff are also encouraged to do their bit to be more green and we’ve got lots of initiatives at our site which are aimed at helping to reduce carbon emissions and help the environment. The new vegetable patches are a great idea and will hopefully encourage staff to grow their own produce at home too.”
Local schools involved in Green Britain Day were Benedict Biscop and Bexhill primary schools and Diamond Hall Junior School in Sunderland, Dubmire Primary School in Houghton le Spring, Hadrian Primary School in South Shields and Oakfield Infant School in Gateshead, Byker Primary School in Newcastle and Bedewell Primary School in Hebburn.
Teresa Laybourne, executive head teacher for Bexhill Primary School, said, “We work hard to ensure that all the children at Bexhill Primary School understand that what they do will have an effect on the environment. It makes us proud that they then take that understanding and apply it in such a practical manner; a way which will have real benefits for the environment.
“The Eco-Team not only takes part in green initiatives, but they also encourage their friends and classmates to be greener as well.”
Kevin added: “We are delighted to be working with schools in the North East to plant new trees. Team Green Britain isn’t just for adults and it’s great to get children engaged with sustainability at an early age. This tree-planting initiative builds on the work we are doing with Eco-Schools through the Pod towards our aim of educating 2.5million school children about sustainable living and to leave a legacy of care and action against climate change.”
The Pod www.jointhepod.org sits at the heart of EDF Energy’s Programme for Greener Schools and is designed to help schools become more sustainable. It provides teachers with the information and resources they need to teach green issues, and a simple framework for them to help students run green activities and share their work with others. More than 9,000 primary and secondary schools are involved in the programme.
This year, model Danielle Lineker, broadcaster Lauren Laverne and singer Jamelia have joined forces with EDF Energy, Olympic and Paralympic Ambassadors including wheelchair racer silver and bronze medallist Shelly Woods, cycling gold medallist Victoria Pendleton and kayak gold medallist Tim Brabants and hundred of thousands of Team Green Britain members to take part in a summer of fun activities and eco-trials. Be a part of Team Green Britain on Green Britain Day and join in a fun-filled summer of challenges to save energy and save money by visiting www.teamgreenbritain.org.
ENDS
For more information contact Jo baron at MHW PR on 0191 233 1300.
Notes to editors
Team Green Britain was kicked off by EDF Energy, the UK’s largest producer of low carbon electricity, in partnership with London 2012, the Eden Project, Global Action Plan, and Eco-Schools. It is a growing group of people all across Britain doing what they can to reduce their carbon footprint by changing their lives in ways which are better for them and the environment.
Green Britain Day is a day each year where schools, communities, businesses and other motivated people showcase and celebrate what the Team are doing as an inspiration to the rest of the country to join us. This year, Green Britain Day is on June 17.
Through Our Sustainability Commitments, EDF Energy has launched the biggest environmental programme to tackle climate change of any UK energy company. In these commitments, we have pledged to reduce the intensity of carbon emissions from our power plants by 60% and to lower the proportion of carbon arising from our customers’ energy consumption by 15% by 2020.
As well as reducing the carbon intensity of our emissions, EDF Energy has a social and ethical responsibility to encourage the next generation of environmental guardians to take action against climate change. This is why EDF Energy has worked with Eco-Schools to set up “the Pod”, which aims to educate 2.5 million school children about sustainable living by 2012.
For information about Team Green Britain go to www.teamgreenbritain.org and the Pod www.jointhepod.org