ENVIRONMENT: Barry Island Primary School open new eco lodge

The council declared a climate emergency three years ago and announced a plan to become carbon neutral by 2030.

Barry Island Primary School on Clive Road, in collaboration with experts from the council, opened their new lodge last Friday to create a body of work aligned with the Welsh Government's curriculum for Wales.

Cllr Rhiannon Birch, Vale of Glamorgan Council cabinet member for education, arts and the Welsh language, is delighted that the school has embraced Project Zero

Google Maps (Image: Google Maps)

Barry Island Primary School create environment friendly Eco Lodge to educate children on the environment. Picture: Google Maps 

She said: “I am thrilled that Barry Island Primary School has embraced the council’s Project Zero initiative, turning it into a practical and relevant syllabus for pupils.

“Never has environmental awareness been more important and, as the next generation, these children can play a vital part in our goal to significantly reduce our carbon output.”

The aim was to create a series of dynamic, cross curricular lessons to educate young people about their world and locality, including the importance of biodiversity, ecology, and sustainability.

The eco lodge will be a base for children, as well as the wider community, to learn about environmental conservation.

In addition to the lodge, parent governors Chris and Amy Jones, in collaboration with the Altrad construction company, built a tool shed from repurposed scaffold boards, created planters from recycled wood and installed water butts for grey water recovery to utilise in the school garden.

Chris Tinsley photography (Image: Chris Tinsley photography)

Matthew Gilbert, headteacher of Barry Island Primary School is delighted with the new Eco Lodge. Picture: Chris Tinsley Photography 

Chris Jones said: “It has been a pleasure to collaborate with Matt Gilbert and Barry Island Primary School to deliver this tangible resource with the help of the teaching staff.

“We hope it will educate and inspire future generations of the importance of sustainability and the environment.”

The design of the new lodge will provide much needed space to enable classes to learn about biodiversity, ecology, and the local environment in alignment with exciting new curriculum arrangements.

Inside the lodge it has no lighting, water or electricity just natural light to make it environmental friendly. 

After the opening ceremony, Year 1 and 2 pupils were provided with to opportunity with Plantasia Tropical Zoo to learn about different reptiles and their habitats.

Pupils are now working with Alison Maher, the council's associate project manager for sustainable communities for learning, to develop a wormery for a food waste composting facility.

Matt Gilbert, headteacher at Barry Island Primary School, added: “It was a wonderful opportunity to work with Chris and Altrad to further provide high quality resources for the children to access and learn.

“Effective collaboration has led to great partnerships for the future, I would like to thank the Altrad senior management for kindly funding this project.

“I would also like to thank the PMS building team for their efficiency and quality of the construction.

"Once again, it has been a pleasure to work with the Vale of Glamorgan’s team and gain their expert advice and support to offer pupils real life learning experiences.”