Administration > Greening Bedales > Conferences

Greening Bedales: conferences, 8 September 2007

On 8 September 2007 we launched our Greening Bedales campaign. This was marked by presentations from some of the country’s most influential environmentalists at two conferences, one for students, the other for parents, staff and other interested parties.

From its foundation over a hundred years ago Bedales has been concerned with stewardship of the environment.  Then, students and staff engaged in agriculture, and in shaping the 140-acre estate.  Now, the needs to redefine its commitment in the light of 21st-century concerns about global warming and energy use.

As a start, the school intends to become carbon-neutral.

The questions we have asked ourselves

• Is this really achievable?
• What are the implications?
• Should we achieve this through carbon offsetting, or is this simply a figleaf to enable our behaviour to continue along the same lines? How could we justify spending fee income on this?
• Which direction should we take?
• What projects and approaches should we adopt?
• If this means a fundamental change to behaviour how do we change?
• Is the concept of climate change a myth? We experienced the same weather patterns 50 years ago.
• We struggle to get the recycling right, so how are we going to achieve carbon neutrality?
• Shouldn’t environmental issues be far more embedded in the curriculum?
• Where are other schools?
• What technological advances are there that we could benefit from?
• What is the next stage beyond carbon neutral?

According to the Carbon Trust our direct carbon footprint is just over 2000 tonnes of CO2 per year; we consume 7,619,634 KwH of energy, 67% of it being oil. We are following the Carbon Trust recommendations to reduce our emissions but realise that this is barely scratching the surface.

Click here for brief biographies of the speakers on 8 September

Artist Pen Mendonca summarised the conferences on huge graphic panels. Click here to see her work.

Click here for a commentary on the conference from the Headmaster.

Click here for a summary of recommendations from speakers at the conference and to open a copy of their presentations.