Pedmore C of E Primary School, Stourbridge, UK

Saving the rainforest: a busy year

The students raised £500 for the World Land Trust Borneo Appeal through a school project. As well as raising money they put a lot of effort into raising awareness.

During the year (2011) they:

• Wrote to manufacturers about the source and labelling of palm oil in their products;
• Wrote to MPs, the Energy Secretary and DEFRA about product labelling to show whether palm oil ingredients were from sustainable sources;
• Sent a petition about palm oil labelling to the European Parliament;
• Participated in a national essay competition explaining their ideas for saving the rainforests and took part in a national debate on the subject;
• Participated in the Microsoft/Taking IT Global on-line Borneo conference involving 11,000 children from around the world;
• Created artwork and advertisements to share Taking IT Global rainforest saving initiatives;
• Worked with Oxford University’s School of Geography and the Environment on how children learn about the rainforest;
• Hosted a visit from Margot James MP to share thoughts and ideas on what government and individuals can do to help save the rainforest;
• Shared their work with parents, staff School Governors and other schools;
• Received the TOTAL Green School Award for their rainforest projects.

WLT Education Officer Note: To read the children’s essays and see the responses to some of the letters they wrote to big companies about use of palm oil, and lots more, I highly recommend reading the blog http://pedmoremeerkats.wordpress.com.