OKEHAMPTON Primary School pupils have been finding out what really lurks at the bottom of school bins!
The school council, fed up with the quantity of rubbish being thrown away, called in West Devon Council to help with the problem.
But before anything could be done to reduce the waste, the school first needed to know exactly how much was being produced — so pupils on the school council, helped by an official from the council's recycling department, carried out a waste audit last Thursday.
This entailed collecting all the waste from bins around the school, including the classrooms and staff room, and even gathering the litter from the playgrounds.
The piles of rubbish were sorted into different materials, such as paper and card, then weighed. The pupils were then able to calculate the approximate amounts of each type of waste being produced each week.
Armed with this information, the school council can now raise awareness of the problems of rubbish production within the primary and seek ways of reducing the output.
Environmentally aware pupils of the school have also been busy clearing rubbish, trimming trees and constructing a path in their woodland.
Earthwatch Millennium Award winner Jenny Denison-Smith has been working with staff, parents and pupils to conserve and improve their woodland. During last week's National Science Week Year 5 children enjoyed constructing 20 bird-boxes which will be erected in the wood.
The work has been sponsored by Earthwatch and Royal and Sun Alliance.
Mrs Denison-Smith said she hoped involving children in caring for their environment would lead to a lifelong understanding and appreciation of the natural world.
Parents have given enthusiastic support to the work which it is hoped will lead to further development of the school grounds.