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Tuesday, 10 November 2009

Gethin Jones interview

Gethin Jones was one of the judges for this year’s EDF Energy Awards for Greener Schools which celebrate teachers, pupils and schools making a difference to the environment. We caught up with Gethin to find out about the awards, going back to school and why he loves lumpy custard.

Why did you get involved in the EDF Energy Greener Schools Awards?
Sustainability issues and saving water and energy are things in which I have always been interested. When I moved to London I was surprised by how hard it was to recycle. I really liked the idea of getting into the schools, and seeing what the kids were doing. Hand on my heart it has been fascinating and I’ve learned so much.

Do you think kids know more about green issues than grown-ups?
They know a 1000% more. That is the whole idea, which is what I really like. The website is www.jointhepod.org and it is all information that teachers helped to develop, and it’s got league tables and things to really get schools involved. In one school there was a green monitor whose job it was to make sure, at the end of the day, all the lights and plugs were switched off. By 2012 EDF Energy hope that 2.8 million kids will be involved in the campaign. That’s pretty impressive.

What kind of things were the schools doing?
I visited one school who had made their whole roof a solar panel. My favourite thing was a school who organised a bike run. They would get all the pupils to meet at the bus stop on their bikes and the teachers would meet there too and lead the students to school by bike. That was great because they all had a laugh and the teachers were there to make sure they were safe. The best school won the most inspirational school award, it was called Birdham Primary School in Sussex. They’re amazing, honestly, I have never seen anything like it. They flush toilets with rain water, they have an eco team who monitor the pond and wildlife, they have a bird watching place and the head teacher is always talking to the Government to get them involved. The kids there love it as well. They are all so involved.