Eco Days for Summer Term 2011!

Eco Days 

The team at A Few Small Steps would like to introduce a new way to learn about sustainability and move closer to your community. Eco Days will help you raise the funds you want to make your school more sustainable, with support tailored to meet your individual needs.

What Is Eco Days?

Eco Days is an assisted fundraising initiative pioneered by AfSL to aid schools who wish to take part in the A Few Small Steps Programme or for those schools already involved, to help them raise the money they need to further their continuation in the programme. Eco Days events will be officially launching in May with Eco Days events being held in primary schools across Greater throughout the summer term.

What Is Assisted Fundraising?

In its simplest terms, assisted fundraising is the provision of material needed to enable the person/group who wishes to fundraise, and the tools and expertise required to do so in the most effective manner.

How Does It Work?

Once you have decided how your school will become involved with Eco Days, we will provide the necessary support & resource needed. You will receive a resource pack containing a variety of resources and materials, depending on what level you feel is appropriate for your school. The content of the pack covers areas including fundraising ideas and resources, tips on sustainability, lesson plans (including starter kits) and materials you can use to approach your community with about Eco Days. Eco Days has fundraising at its core and money raised will be split. Half the money raised will directly contribute to your schools involvement in the A Few Small Steps program; the other half is for your school to develop your own sustainable projects. This could be solar panels for your schools roof, a raised bed for growing or perhaps a sensory garden.

How Can My School Hold an Eco Days Event?

Firstly you need to decide if you would prefer to hold an Eco Days event in school or out of school time. In school activities could be sponsored activities, own clothes days, activity days or even something simple such as a school swapshop. If your school is interested in holding an event out of school time why not consider holding your own Eco Days Fair? You could also consider holding a fashion show featuring items the children have produced, or have a bake sale. Once you have decided if you would prefer to have in school or out of school activity for Eco Days the next step is to decide on what kind of resource is best for you.

What Resources Are Available?

Thereare 3 levels of support the AFSS team are able to offer:

Free Resource Pack

This electronic pack is filled with top tips about holding your own in-school event and lots of fundraising ideas for holding your own Eco Days event.

Low Cost Resource Pack

This reasonably priced pack delivers all the contents of the free resource pack and more but comes both printed & in electronic form and contains plenty of marketing material (posters, sticker, letters to local businesses etc) as well as lesson plans to assist you in holding your Eco Days Event. It also contains a starter kit for students with seeds & pots to help them start their own growing projects. 

The Eco Days Fair

This option is more suited for schools opting to hold their own Eco Days Fair & includes several in-school planning sessions as well as workshop led resources to teach children how to make their own sustainable products which they can sell on their own stalls at the fair.  We will also provide links to additional stallholders with the best of local fresh & artisan produce, fair trade teas & coffees and sustainable snacks as well as vintage/thrift stalls and entertainment in the form of musicians, poets, singers & performance artists. All of the usual favourites such as face painting and sponge throwing will be available making a fun filled day for the whole community.

What support will the AFSS team provide?

Depending on your choice of level, the AFSS team will be able to provide support that is appropriate for you, your school and your students. We can make sure that we assist you with areas that you would like the most help with. These areas could include:

·        Fundraising suggestions

·        Publicity

·        Lesson planning

·        Contacting businesses

·        Engaging your community

·        Other areas

What is my next step?

The next step is to register your interest for your school to hold their own EcoDays event. You can do this by emailing [email protected] or by calling 0161 237 3357 and asking to speak with Francesca or Stuart. Once we have registered your interest we will look at the Eco Days event you wish to hold and offer you the necessary support needed to make it happen! We very much hope that your school will hold an EcoDays event, please feel free to contact us via the contact information above.

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