Eco living is a breeze for school

1:22pm Thursday 4th September 2008

STUDENTS and staff at a Bromyard school are celebrating the installation of an energy-saving wind turbine after winning it in a national competition.

Electricity bills at the Queen Elizabeth Humanities College are set to drop by around £1,500 a year thanks to the £34,000 piece of equipment, which was part-funded after the school came second in an Eco-Schools contest.

Teachers and pupils then faced months of grant applications and fundraising activities, which included a £1,000 skipathon, and raised £24,000 to buy it.

Substantial funding came from companies like the Co-op and Currys, Herefordshire Council, the Healthy Schools initiative and county businesses such as Melcon Ltd.

The school’s eco-schools co-ordinator Sue Taylor said: “It’s really important that all of us reduce our carbon footprint and if schools can show the way, then that’s really good for the community.”

An Eco-Fest at the school is now planned for Saturday, September 13, between noon and 4.30pm to raise money for fencing off the turbine.