Environmental Studies

The UK Government wants every school to be sustainable by 2020. This means embedding sustainable development into all areas of school life.

As a result, schools must also show a commitment to:

• caring for health and wellbeing
• caring for others across cultures, distances and generations
• caring for the environment both locally and globally

Sustainability topics that can be taught by using a Solardome:

Waste and recycling

Composting is recycling: the nutrients in organic waste are processed and returned to the soil to help more plants to grow. This compost can then be used on the produce in the dome to help it grow healthy and strong.

The majority of the dome is made from aluminium and glass which can be recycled at the end of its long life. Why not encourage pupils to investigate other materials used for experiments in the dome and see whether they can be recycled?

Energy

Teaching about how to use green electricity efficiently aids pupils’ understanding about sustainability, recycling and pollution. Why not design and create a renewable energy watering system, using wind turbines and solar power, to power a water pump and irrigation system inside the dome.

Pupils could also investigate why the dome is the most efficient shape for retaining heat and growing plants.

Healthy living

School years are an impressionable time in any child’s life and the values learnt in these early years will go on to guide them forever. With child obesity on the rise, being able to teach children practically about a healthy lifestyle will play an important role in helping them develop into well balanced, healthy adults. Using a Solardome as an outdoor classroom for practical learning about nutrition will instil in children a real sense of achievement, especially when they see food on their plates that they have grown themselves.