sustainabilty
Being a Forest School, sustainability is of course at the heart of all that we do. Using the woods, meadows and marshes as our classrooms, with nature themed weekly topics, sustainability and conservation is at the forefront of our little learners’ education.
We believe that early experiences in nature nurture a lifelong respect for the planet, and that small, consistent actions can have a lasting impact.
Our sustainability approach is structured into four focus areas—Decarbonisation, Climate Adaptation & Resilience, Enhancing Biodiversity, and Climate Education & Green Skills. These areas guide how we make decisions, design our curriculum, and involve our community in caring for the natural world. They ensure our work is balanced between reducing our environmental footprint, adapting to change, enriching our surroundings, and preparing children with the knowledge and skills they need for a sustainable future.
We recognise that caring for the environment is a shared responsibility. Staff lead by example, children contribute ideas and actions, and families are valued partners in our efforts. Together, we aim to cultivate a culture where sustainability is a way of life, embedded in our learning, daily routines, and community values.
Children
All children are taught the importance of the Five Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Repair, and be Respectful
Each snack time the children are reminded about the importance of recycling and composting our waste. Every child uses the correct bins provided
The children will see the result of the composting of their food waste later in the year
The children regularly work alongside the park rangers and our forest school practitioners to create new wildlife habitats; be it through raising nest boxes, creating deadhedges, planting bulbs and sowing wildflower seeds
Practitioners
Mirjam and Sam have now been appointed our Sustainability Leads, and will implement and update our Climate Action Plan (see below)
Our practitioners deliver daily sessions that always have nature themes running through them
Circle Time discussions concerning sustainability and conservation are an everyday occurrence
Our innovative team are always using natural resources for everything from crafting to cooking to storytelling
We have a Sustainability Lead who keeps our Sustainability Policy up to date, has devised and actioned a Climate Action Plan, and regularly attends relevant training
Families
We keep parents up to date with our daily topics and discussions so that they can continue the conversation at home
Parents regularly donate useful bits of kit that their children have grown out of for others to reuse
We invite parents to a termly clothes swap to encourage the reusing of unwanted clothing
We invite parents to join us in leading small circle time discussions so that they can join us on our sustainability learning journey
For further details on our sustainability approach please click below to see our Sustainability Policy and read on to see our Climate Action Plan!
Forest Grove Hackney Climate Action Plan
Below are 5 Aims and Actions that we will follow and hope to achieve by July 2026. The Climate Action Plan will be reviewed by the Sustainability Lead with the rest of the team at each staff meeting.
Aim: Eliminate non-biodegradable or recyclable waste
Action: Monitor all waste created. If it is not going into the recycling bin, or the food waste bin, what is it and how can it be eliminated or replaced by something recyclable or biodegradable?
Who: All team
When: Continuous
Aim: Wherever possible to use natural or recycled/upcycled/secondhand resources.
Action: To identify any resource that we use that does not fall into one of the aforementioned categories and to evaluate if it can be replaced.
Who: All team
When: Continuous
Aim: To make sure that any new product/resource that is being bought in is as environmentally friendly as possible
Action: To identify any new product or resource that is being bought in and evaluate its environmental impact.
Who: All team
When: Continuous
Aim: To involve families in our sustainability journey
Action: To create a feedback form on our sustainability webpage and ask families for their input. To host events such as clothes swaps etc.
Who: Sustainability Lead with support of team
When: Continuous feedback. Termly event.
Aim: To reduce Forest Grove’s carbon footprint
Action: Calculate carbon footprint, identify areas where emissions can be reduced.
Who: Sustainability Lead with support from team
When: By July 2026