In 2019, Harmeny gained its third successive Green Flag, the coveted award from Eco-Schools Scotland
To achieve Eco-Schools recognition, a school has to offer detailed evidence of engagement with the environment and of the ways it has helped to make its community a better place in which to live.
Spearheaded by Harmeny’s “eco-warriors”, a panel of children guided by teachers and Harmeny’s Outdoors team, the school gained its first flag in 2015. The award has to be renewed every two years and success is not guaranteed.
Walk through Harmeny’s grounds, and you’ll spot hibernation boxes for hedgehogs, numerous bird boxes, and “habitat walls” designed and built by the children. “We even have a camera trap to watch what the activities of badgers and other animals at night.”
Down at the beach, too, the children enjoy Coasteering – jumping, scrambling and splashing along Scotland’s shoreline, scaling rocks and becoming immersed in their coastal surroundings. “This is just what we do,” says Rob, “so the Eco-schools requirements come easily to us.”
These goals – and the work the eco-warriors undertake – help everyone think about what’s going on in the wider world beyond Harmeny, Rob says. In the past, the children have been seen down at Balerno’s Farmers Market, selling fruit and veg dug from their own Community Garden, and even supplying the local bistro, Carlyle’s.
“The Eco-schools scheme challenges us all to ask: How can we make a difference? How can we engage with our communities?” With their green flag continuing to fly high, Harmeny’s children are leading the way.