* A scheme which aims to enlist primary school children in reducing energy consumption in their schools has been launched by the Groundwork Trust and Esso. Called the Young Energy Savers (YES) Programme and co-funded by the Department of the Environment, it uses the school building as a free resource and involves governors, caretakers and parents. Groundwork staff support the process and cross-curricular materials are provided.The focus of the project is “the energy picture”, an enlarged plan of the school which highlights how energy is used. Two hundred schools are already involved and new partnerships are being sought.
Groundwork Foundation, 85-87 Cornwall Street, Birmingham B3 3BY. Tel: 0121-236 8565.
* A printing machine which can produce posters from any A4 original is now available from TechPrint. Posters can come in four sizes, A2, A1, A0 and 2 x A0. Banners can also be created in any size up to 30 metres long and 46 inches wide. Originals can be from a laser printer, a fax machine or photocopier and an optional interface allows the user to feed data directly from a computer. The machine, called the ProImage, costs Pounds 2,995 (exc VAT). TechPrint Lettering Systems Ltd, Summit House, Brooklands Close, Sunbury on Thames, Middlesex TW16 7EH. Tel: 01932 789863.
* An “amphibian park” is being developed at New Parks Community College, Leicester, complete with pond, bog garden and a frog hotel. It replaces a very damp but ecologically sterile part of the grounds and is funded by the Severn Trent Water Company, which is also providing a team to dig out the pond. The hotel is a two-tier habitat made out of plastic tubes and wooden pallets.
“I wanted to develop what is essentially a grass desert into a useful green teaching resource,” says science teacher Graham Stocks. “Field studies away from school are expensive and beyond the purse of the majority of our students”. When established, the habitat will be available for all groups in the community including primary schools, special schools and youth groups.
New Parks Community College, Greencoat Road, Leicester LE3 6RN. Tel: 0116 2872115.
* A directory of organisations involved in promoting and supporting education-industry links has been produced with sponsorship from Esso UK plc and Glaxo Research and Development. It includes the main education-industry link activities such as award schemes, courses and publications and key liaison organisations, such as the Industrial Society and Young Enterprise. Aims, activities, and contact details are given for each organisation. Pounds 3.50. Bulk discounts are available. Resources Plus, 4 Medway, Thatcham, Berkshire, RG13 3AU. Tel: 01635 868668.
