Eco Council
Our school has an Eco-Council with members elected by each class from P4 upwards. Candidates can stand for election each year and hold office for the whole academic year.
Eco-Councillors for 2023-24
Our Eco-Council meets regularly with Mrs Alexander and Mrs Montgomery to plan and develop policies and plans to help to improve our environment.
The Plastic Pledge
Our Plastic Pledge
Downpatrick Primary School Eco-Council have decided on a very exciting and worthwhile challenge for the whole school.
At a recent meeting the Eco-Council, made up of Eco-Councillors from P5 up to P7, discussed the major challenge of Micro-Plastic Pollution in our environment. Working with the school Eco-teachers, Mrs Alison Alexander and Mrs Helen Montgomery they looked into all the ways we use plastic in our daily life. Plastics are everywhere, single-use bottles, sweet wrappers, clingfilm, polystyrene cups, plastic spoons/forks, crisp bags and much more. When they are used they can be recycled but most often they are dumped. Plastics degrade very, very slowly in the environment and the first stage of this can be the plastic breaking into smaller and smaller pieces – some of them are microscopic in size. However they are still there as plastic and often they can get eaten by animals such as fish which mistake them for food. They can even end up being eaten by humans.
It is estimated that 70% of us have some microplastic in our bodies.
The Eco-Council presented a talk to the whole school about the problem and they got everyone’s agreement to Our Plastic Pledge.
‘We pledge to use reusable beverage bottles in our school. We will only use single-use plastic wrappers and bags if there is no alternative.
We pledge to completely remove plastic cutlery from our school by June 2024.’
The Eco-Council were able to tell us that our school kitchen has already agreed to phase out as much single use plastic as possible and they now use biodegradable spoons rather than the plastic ones they used to have. The Eco-Councillors have already been conducting surveys in each class to gather information on what is happening now in the classes and then how we can improve it over the next months.
So each class is going to try to cut down as much as possible on their plastic waste by using refillable water bottles and using our water fountains each day.
This is a very good initiative of the Eco-Council and will be part of our Eco-Programme moving forward which will help towards our next Eco-School Green Flag award.
Downpatrick Primary School Eco-Council have decided on a very exciting and worthwhile challenge for the whole school.
At a recent meeting the Eco-Council, made up of Eco-Councillors from P5 up to P7, discussed the major challenge of Micro-Plastic Pollution in our environment. Working with the school Eco-teachers, Mrs Alison Alexander and Mrs Helen Montgomery they looked into all the ways we use plastic in our daily life. Plastics are everywhere, single-use bottles, sweet wrappers, clingfilm, polystyrene cups, plastic spoons/forks, crisp bags and much more. When they are used they can be recycled but most often they are dumped. Plastics degrade very, very slowly in the environment and the first stage of this can be the plastic breaking into smaller and smaller pieces – some of them are microscopic in size. However they are still there as plastic and often they can get eaten by animals such as fish which mistake them for food. They can even end up being eaten by humans.
It is estimated that 70% of us have some microplastic in our bodies.
The Eco-Council presented a talk to the whole school about the problem and they got everyone’s agreement to Our Plastic Pledge.
‘We pledge to use reusable beverage bottles in our school. We will only use single-use plastic wrappers and bags if there is no alternative.
We pledge to completely remove plastic cutlery from our school by June 2024.’
The Eco-Council were able to tell us that our school kitchen has already agreed to phase out as much single use plastic as possible and they now use biodegradable spoons rather than the plastic ones they used to have. The Eco-Councillors have already been conducting surveys in each class to gather information on what is happening now in the classes and then how we can improve it over the next months.
So each class is going to try to cut down as much as possible on their plastic waste by using refillable water bottles and using our water fountains each day.
This is a very good initiative of the Eco-Council and will be part of our Eco-Programme moving forward which will help towards our next Eco-School Green Flag award.
Eco-Councillors for 2022-23
Our Latest Green Flag Success!
Our school was awarded its FOURTH Green Flag on 12 June 2023!
This is the culmination of an enormous amount of work by the children and the staff especially the Eco-Council and the Eco-Club members led very ably by Mrs Alexander and Mrs Montgomery.
We also received a special plaque to mark the setting up of our Pollinator Garden.
The Eco Garden Tidy Up
A tremendous word of thanks must go to Mrs Alexander, who came in on her day off, for organising a very thorough ‘Garden Tidy Up’ of our outside garden area and the willow dome.
We would also wish to thank Gabriel O’Neill, Claire Taggart, Susan Snowden and her son, who were very kind in giving of their time as well as Philip Young who also helped.
It was heavy going at times as they dug, weeded and cut back overgrown vegetation.
There was lots to see during the work as they encountered some lovely frogs and minibeasts along the way.
The garden is looking very neat and tidy and hopefully before too many weeks we will see some green shoots which will herald the start of spring.
A tremendous word of thanks must go to Mrs Alexander, who came in on her day off, for organising a very thorough ‘Garden Tidy Up’ of our outside garden area and the willow dome.
We would also wish to thank Gabriel O’Neill, Claire Taggart, Susan Snowden and her son, who were very kind in giving of their time as well as Philip Young who also helped.
It was heavy going at times as they dug, weeded and cut back overgrown vegetation.
There was lots to see during the work as they encountered some lovely frogs and minibeasts along the way.
The garden is looking very neat and tidy and hopefully before too many weeks we will see some green shoots which will herald the start of spring.
Eco-schools-Pollinator Garden - Competition Winners
Green Flag Awarded - June 2021 - Congratulations to Everyone!
A big thank you to Mrs Alexander and the Eco Council for leading the school's efforts this year. It was worthy recognition that we were awarded our THIRD Green Flag!

Bird Feeding Stations!
The Eco-Club members were hard at work in the school garden putting out food for our local birds with the guidance of our Eco-Club teacher Mrs Alison Alexander.
They set up feeding stations round different parts of the school to give the birds a helping hand as the colder weather sets in.
The club meets every Friday afternoon and as the members are all from P5 we are able to keep our ‘Bubbles’ intact!
They set up feeding stations round different parts of the school to give the birds a helping hand as the colder weather sets in.
The club meets every Friday afternoon and as the members are all from P5 we are able to keep our ‘Bubbles’ intact!
Eco Council for 2019-2020
Eco Winner
Congratulations to our P5 pupil who was a winner in the recent Household Recycling Competition. She received a special prize at an award ceremony on Friday 6th Dec.
Congratulations to our newly appointed Eco Council representatives from C2, P4, P5, P6, C3 and P7. We are looking forward to a rewarding and productive year together.
Our Gardening Club and Eco Club members have been busy.
We have started work on our new bug hotel. Conor’s Grandad kindly brought in some wooden pallets for us to use.
We recycled empty cardboard tubes to make pencil holders and old egg cartons to make decorations for the Harvest Assembly.
We also planted some flowers and of course we had time for weeding!
We have started work on our new bug hotel. Conor’s Grandad kindly brought in some wooden pallets for us to use.
We recycled empty cardboard tubes to make pencil holders and old egg cartons to make decorations for the Harvest Assembly.
We also planted some flowers and of course we had time for weeding!
ECO-Council for 2018-19
SUCCESS! OUR NEW ECO FLAG!
We were awarded our new ECO FLAG on 23 May 2019!
Eco-Club
We have started an Eco-Club which will run after school each Friday. The members will rotate four or five times a year to give the very many children who have applied a chance to work in the garden and around the flower beds in our grounds.
We have started an Eco-Club which will run after school each Friday. The members will rotate four or five times a year to give the very many children who have applied a chance to work in the garden and around the flower beds in our grounds.
We elected our Eco-Council for 2018-2019 in September 2018 and there are representatives from each class from P1-P7, C2 and C3. The eco-council meet with the KS1 and Foundation Stage classes to get their ideas.
The Eco-Councillors are elected from P4, P5, P6 P7 & C3 classes
We also work closely with the school staff representatives. They are:
Staff Reps:
Mrs A Alexander (Teacher-in Charge)
Mrs K Beattie (Teacher)
Mr P Young (Building Supervisor)
Action Plan
We are a Green Flag School. In June 2013 we were awarded a Green Flag for all our hard work improving our school and the environment.
Our current Eco-Council have worked together to create an action plan for the Green Flag this year. It tells us what we are going to do. The Eco-councillors are responsible for making sure everything on the action plan is carried out.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
In school we use the blue bin recycling scheme. We try to make sure we recycle as mush as possible in our classrooms. The Eco-Council are introducing a recycling checklist to help make sure only recyclable items are put in these bins.
We also have compost bins in each class which we use to recycle fruit peelings etc. This is emptied each day and placed in the compost bin by pupils from C3 who are responsible for composting in school. This compost will be used in our school garden when it is ready.
Healthy Break
All our classes from foundation stage take part in the healthy break scheme. They have fruit or toast for break and this has helped reduce the amount of litter in school. The other classes in school are encouraged to eat a healthy break and refill their water bottles using the water fountain in school.
Curriculum
All the classes from P4-7, C2 and C3 took part in Healthy Living lessons during Curriculum Enrichment. They learnt about eating healthy food, exercise and how the body stays healthy.
School Garden
The PTA and Eco-Council worked very hard to get funding to help create a school garden. We designed the garden ourselves and created an outdoor classroom. We hope to involve parents as much as possible in planting and maintaining the garden.
Eco-Club
We have started an Eco-Club which will run after school each Friday. The members will rotate four or five times a year to give the very many children who have applied a chance to work in the garden and around the flower beds in our grounds.
The Eco-Councillors are elected from P4, P5, P6 P7 & C3 classes
We also work closely with the school staff representatives. They are:
Staff Reps:
Mrs A Alexander (Teacher-in Charge)
Mrs K Beattie (Teacher)
Mr P Young (Building Supervisor)
Action Plan
We are a Green Flag School. In June 2013 we were awarded a Green Flag for all our hard work improving our school and the environment.
Our current Eco-Council have worked together to create an action plan for the Green Flag this year. It tells us what we are going to do. The Eco-councillors are responsible for making sure everything on the action plan is carried out.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
In school we use the blue bin recycling scheme. We try to make sure we recycle as mush as possible in our classrooms. The Eco-Council are introducing a recycling checklist to help make sure only recyclable items are put in these bins.
We also have compost bins in each class which we use to recycle fruit peelings etc. This is emptied each day and placed in the compost bin by pupils from C3 who are responsible for composting in school. This compost will be used in our school garden when it is ready.
Healthy Break
All our classes from foundation stage take part in the healthy break scheme. They have fruit or toast for break and this has helped reduce the amount of litter in school. The other classes in school are encouraged to eat a healthy break and refill their water bottles using the water fountain in school.
Curriculum
All the classes from P4-7, C2 and C3 took part in Healthy Living lessons during Curriculum Enrichment. They learnt about eating healthy food, exercise and how the body stays healthy.
School Garden
The PTA and Eco-Council worked very hard to get funding to help create a school garden. We designed the garden ourselves and created an outdoor classroom. We hope to involve parents as much as possible in planting and maintaining the garden.
Eco-Club
We have started an Eco-Club which will run after school each Friday. The members will rotate four or five times a year to give the very many children who have applied a chance to work in the garden and around the flower beds in our grounds.