Environmental Action at Languages United
A summary of the school's activities, by Lily Nicolson
Located in the beautiful English city of Bath environmental action is a key part of what we do at Languages United.
Our vision and approach to education involves empowering students beyond the classroom, helping them to become responsible global citizens. We believe in the transformative power of education to create a global community of learners that can make a positive impact on people and the planet, which we achieve by involving our students in charity and environmental projects.
We recognise the urgency of environmental action to halt the climate crisis, and we are actively working to create a positive impact. We all have a responsibility to do our part, and to support those across the world who are most affected by the climate emergency.
International impact
While we encourage land and sea travel wherever possible, we acknowledge that air travel is the only option for many of our students to come to the UK to learn English and, equally importantly, to experience a new culture. To compensate for the environmental impact of flying, we have previously supported a number of carbon offsetting projects that help to combat climate change while helping local communities. These include a community reforestation project in Kenya, and a wind power project in India.
Local impact
We have also supported Project Seagrass, a Wales-based charity dedicated to the conservation of seagrass meadows worldwide, which are a crucial habitat for thousands of species, as well as a natural absorber of carbon and key to fighting climate change. We sponsored Project Seagrass to create an information poster and, with the help of other Green Standard Schools, they now have multilingual information posters about the importance of preserving seagrass meadows.
Closer to home, we are partnering with local companies to create a more tangible impact on the local community; for the second year in a row, we are investing in Bath and West Community Energy (BWCE), a not-for-profit organisation placing energy ownership in the hands of local people through clean energy projects.
An important part of reducing our students’ carbon footprint is helping to reduce the carbon footprint of our fantastic host families. We have partnered with BWCE to arrange a presentation on ‘Reducing your energy bills’, which helps both the environment and our hosts’ pockets. This year, we are also providing discounts on home energy surveys to help hosts improve their energy efficiency.
In our school we use 100% renewable electricity and 100% carbon-neutral gas, as well as maintaining our schemes such as Meat-Free Mondays during our Summer School, reducing our use of paper wherever possible, and encouraging students to use reusable water bottles.
Ultimately, Languages United’s commitment to environmental action is an integral part of our philosophy. We believe that by taking action and inspiring our students to do the same, we can make a real difference and contribute to a greener future.
