Plenary, 19 Jan 2005

Meeting date: Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Official Report 431KB pdf

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Eco-schools Programme

The final item of business is a members' business debate on motion S2M-2141, in the name of Cathie Craigie, on the eco-schools programme. The debate will be concluded without any question being put. I invite those members who wish to speak in the debate to press their request-to-speak buttons now, and ask those members who are leaving the chamber to do so as quickly and quietly as possible.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament recognises the importance of education in raising environmental awareness; notes the continuing and growing success of the Eco Schools programme, run in Scotland by Keep Scotland Beautiful; encourages the Scottish Executive to give continued support to the programme, and congratulates Whitelees Primary School in Cumbernauld on being the 100th school in Scotland to be awarded a Green Flag.

Thank you, Presiding Officer, and thanks to members who signed the motion and who have taken the time to stay for tonight's debate. I know that many more members would have been here tonight, but they have other engagements. They send their best regards to everyone who is taking part in the debate.

I appreciate members' interest, and I know that young people and staff who are involved in eco-schools appreciate the support of MSPs. I thank Ann Kay, the head teacher of Whitelees Primary School, for organising a trip here today for pupils and staff from Cumbernauld and Kilsyth. I also thank Michael O'Neill, the director of education at North Lanarkshire Council, for picking up the tab for the visit.

The eco-schools programme is an international initiative that is designed to encourage whole-school action for the environment. The way in which we treat our environment is perhaps one of the biggest responsibilities that we have as human beings. Environmental issues can be global, national or local, but we cannot and we must not disregard any of them. Indeed, we do so at our peril.

We know only too well that behaviours that are learned at a young age are hard to break later in life, which is why eco-schools are so important. Did any member who sits in this chamber know what the burning environmental issues of the day were when we were at school? I doubt it. Perhaps some of us did, but I am sure that we had neither the knowledge nor the know-how that is displayed by pupils from eco-schools.

Pupils from my constituency have benefited greatly from their involvement in the project. We have with us in the gallery pupils and staff from Whitelees Primary School, Abronhill Primary School, Kildrum Nursery Centre and Our Lady's High School in Cumbernauld. Those schools have been awarded green flags in recognition of their achievements through the project. Their involvement has not just taught pupils about the importance of the environment, but given them the knowledge and confidence to live their lives in a much more environmentally friendly and sustainable way, and to use that knowledge in all that they do.

When we take our glass bottles to the bottle bank or put out our newspapers for recycling, it is easy to wonder how much difference we make as individuals, but after learning about the work of eco-schools, I now bank my bottles with more confidence that the young people of Scotland are more aware than ever before of how the consequences of our actions impact on our environment. I also have confidence that they have the desire to do something about that.

The benefits of the eco-schools programme do not just reach the pupils who participate. Mums and dads are much more likely to turn off the tap if they are told off by their kids every time they leave one running unnecessarily. Granny might not know how much energy she wastes when she leaves her television on standby at night, but she will not forget after she has heard all about the energy projects and topics that her granddaughter is involved in at school.

Government has an incontestable responsibility to support programmes such as eco-schools and I congratulate the Executive on the financial support that it has given to the programme during the past three years and its commitment to continue to support the programme. The programme has taken off in the past few years. The number of schools that are involved has increased by 800 per cent, from 206 three years ago to 1,673. Some 130 schools have achieved the prestigious green flag award, 464 schools have achieved a bronze award and 198 schools have achieved a silver award. Most notable, Whitelees Primary School in North Lanarkshire became the 100th school in Scotland to achieve a green flag, which I think was awarded in June 2004. Involvement and interest in the programme grow year by year and I want the figure to rise at the same rate during the next three years, because environmental issues should and must be an integral part of teaching and life in every school and home.

The eco-schools programme gives young people a sense of ownership of the tasks on which they embark by involving them in decision making, in identifying problems in their schools, in financial considerations and in actively solving problems, to make their schools as environmentally friendly as they can be.

North Lanarkshire Council is to be congratulated on its support and encouragement for the programme. I understand that percentage pupil participation in the programme is greater in North Lanarkshire than in any other local authority and that Our Lady's High School in Cumbernauld is one of a very small band of secondary schools in Scotland to be awarded a green flag. I challenge colleagues to find out the participation rates in their areas and to ensure that all schools in their constituencies know about the programme and have the support to take part. We should continue to give our whole-hearted support to schools, to the keep Scotland beautiful campaign and to everyone who is involved in the eco-schools programme. We should let the Scottish Executive know that we welcome its involvement and contribution, which should continue to grow, to reflect the growing demand for and interest in such valuable work.

I want to put on record some of the thoughts of the young people from Whitelees Primary School about what "eco" means to them. I think that I had seven minutes in which to make my speech, so I hope that I will have time to do so.

Lewis Foggin, who I think is on the eco-school committee, says:

"Eco means saving our planet and everyone should do their bit to help out. I always try to reduce the amount of energy used by turning down the heating and turning off lights whenever possible. We need to stop using up natural resources so that future generations will be able to survive. My goal is to get more people on board the eco ship. I'm hoping that this will make people realise how valuable our planet is and how limited our natural resources are.

Lewis goes on to say that the magic words are "reuse, reduce and recycle". If we made that our slogan, we would create a better environment and a more sustainable country and planet.

Members should make four-minute speeches, please.

It is my pleasure to contribute to the debate and to congratulate Cathie Craigie on bringing forward for discussion a very important topic. When she talked about taking her collection of bottles to the bottle bank with pride, I assumed that she was referring to the fine bottles of mineral water that are supplied to members, which are produced in my constituency, rather than to the green bottles that contain something else.

The eco-schools initiative is important and I warmly support it. It is a splendid opportunity to build into teaching a practical illustration of the components of the value and citizenship part of the school curriculum. In my research into the issue and in talking to the one eco-school in my constituency, the Royal School of Dunkeld Primary School, I have been struck by the central point that the initiative is not a peripheral part of the school's activity. It does not take place at the margins of the school, but is built into the school's work, ethos and curriculum, and the children are very much part of that.

That is the approach that is taken by the Royal School of Dunkeld Primary School, where the head teacher, Sandy Howe, and his staff have been working hard. They have now acquired third flag status, which is a continuation of the important work to build the initiative into the school's curriculum. Cathie Craigie is right that it begins to change the focus, attitudes and perspective of the young people who are involved in the project and to increase their awareness. It also—dare I say it—teaches some of their parents a lesson about how to be more sensitive to the use of resources.

Among the key points that have been included in the Royal School of Dunkeld's working activities is a near compulsion about recycling and the use of resources within the school. The children monitor the use of energy within the school through regular involvement in taking meter readings and comparing them month on month to see how much energy is being used in the school. In the school's splendid grounds, the children have been encouraged to create a place not only for playing, but for learning. They have created a natural habitat in which wildlife flourishes and in which they can grow their own produce, which is then used in the school's catering service, thereby giving the children the opportunity to experience high-quality produce that they have been responsible for nurturing from start to finish. As a comprehensive initiative for building into our school curriculum, the eco-schools programme is first class and worthy of our support.

As policy makers, we have an obligation to ensure that the initiatives over which we preside can include some of the lessons and arguments from the eco-school programme. I have mentioned before in debate—the minister has heard me do so—the very exciting proposals to renew the school estate in my constituency, particularly at Breadalbane Academy, and at Crieff High School in the constituency of my colleague, Roseanna Cunningham. The proposals to renew those schools are underpinned by new heating systems that will be powered by wood fuel, which is designed to be the most sensitive use of resources, particularly in Highland Perthshire, where there is an abundance of wood fuel.

One of the practical difficulties of doing that is that, because the school building proposal has been progressed as a public-private partnership project, it cannot gain access to the grant funding to make the more expensive heating system possible. That funding is available only to councils, not for PPP projects. I have raised that issue with the Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, who has taken a tremendous amount of interest in the project, and I am optimistic that the prospects for bringing some of the values of the eco-schools initiative into the design of a major school building in my constituency through the practical solution of the heating system are taking a turn for the better.

The key point of the debate is the importance of building into the ethos of our education and policy-making systems the values of preserving our natural resources and using them wisely. The debate undoubtedly helps in the discussion of those important issues.

It is my pleasure to congratulate Cathie Craigie on securing the debate. It is something of an education for me to be speaking this evening, because I did not know much about the eco-schools programme until the debate was scheduled and I had to learn about the initiative quickly. In fact, my presence in the chamber is to some extent part of that learning process and I look forward to hearing the rest of the debate.

It is important that we recognise just how much things have changed not only in education, but in politics. It was not so many years ago that Robin Harper was a lone voice on the political front campaigning for the ecology of the planet. Now, ecology and concern for the continued existence of our natural environment are central to the activities in which we in the Scottish Parliament are engaged.

It is only appropriate that our schools should engage in the same process. The eco-schools programme has done a great deal to encourage young people to think responsibly about ecology. I would go so far as to suggest that young people think positively on the subject rather more quickly than the majority of politicians are prepared to do.

When we speak to young people about politics in general, we are often met with a blank response, as young people feel that politicians have little in common with them in relation to what they think and their hopes for the future. Yet here we are, following young people in concerning ourselves more about the environment and considering ways in which to be positive in working for its future. I hope that the eco-schools programme will give us a generation of young people who understand the need not only to become involved in environmental issues, but to engage with politicians so that, in the longer term, we can reflect their views.

As I draw my remarks to a reasonably premature end, I take this opportunity to associate myself and the Conservative party with the motion's congratulations to

"Whitelees Primary School in Cumbernauld on being the 100th school in Scotland to be awarded a Green Flag."

I am pleased to participate in the debate and to congratulate Cathie Craigie on securing it. The debate provides us all with the opportunity to review how successful eco-schools have been in our constituencies and to take the initiative, as Alex Johnstone is promising to do, to learn more about and to become involved in the programme.

I am pleased to say that, in my constituency of North East Fife, there is already considerable involvement in the eco-schools programme. Thirty-nine schools are registered, including two of the three secondary schools, one nursery school and 36 primary schools. Of those 39 schools, five have been awarded green flags. Three schools—Balmullo Primary School, Colinsburgh Primary School and Leuchars Primary School—have bronze awards. A further three—Dairsie Primary School, Dunbog Primary School and Rathillet Primary School—have silver awards. New Gilston Primary School, Pittenweem Primary School and Strathkinness Primary School have their first green flags. Guardbridge already has two flags.

I make special mention of Dunino Primary School, the first mainland school in Scotland to achieve green flag status. It was also the first school in Scotland—I think that it is still the only one—to receive permanent green flag status, having been awarded its fourth green flag in 2004. I was delighted to be invited to the reception for that award last year and to have been asked two years previously to present the school with its third green flag.

The scheme is an excellent education initiative, which very much involves the whole school—indeed, that is the important aspect of the programme. It requires leadership from the head teacher and staff of the school, but children are very much part of it. To achieve green flag status, it must be shown that children have been involved, in a committee, in developing the eco-programme for their school. That forms part of the overall curriculum that is being developed. The programme is good for promoting many of the environmental measures that we wish to be taken in Scotland. It also relates to healthier living.

I will mention some of the things that the flag-winning eco-schools in my constituency have been involved in. The most recent winner, Strathkinness Primary School, received its first flag in the summer of 2004, having been involved in a composting initiative. The school has been revamping its garden, pond and playground areas and it is saving water and energy and promoting healthy eating, with support from the whole community. Pittenweem Primary School, which has also received its first flag, has been involved in monitoring the use of paper, energy and water, as well as issues around transport and healthy eating. Those are all important aspects of the work of eco-schools.

Guardbridge Primary School took part in a fuel energy consumption monitoring exercise similar to the one that John Swinney referred to and it cut its fuel bills by £640. There might be lessons for us all in that, as we could all do more to protect our environment by reducing our fuel use and we could save ourselves a bit of money by being a bit more careful about our energy use.

Dunino Primary School has permanent green flag status because it has a good school atmosphere. The school is small—it has fewer than 20 pupils—but there is involvement at every level from primary 1 through to the senior pupils and the head teacher, who has become the co-ordinator for eco-schools throughout Fife. The school was awarded its first green flag in May 1998. It has developed a wildlife garden, a pond and a bird-table. It has been monitoring energy use and has saved more than £600. Water consumption in the school has also been reduced. Last summer, I was delighted to see the school's latest initiative, which involved building a greenhouse out of 2-litre soft drinks bottles—I say to John Swinney that they were a mixture of green and white bottles.

Such initiatives involve the whole community and are important for sustainability. We should congratulate those eco-schools and encourage every other school to become involved.

I thank Cathie Craigie for securing the debate and congratulate her on it. I apologise that I will not be able to stay after my speech—I have a meeting to attend, as I informed Cathie Craigie in an e-mail.

I reiterate what John Swinney said. People think that eco-schools relate only to environmental issues, but that is not the case. I am glad that Cathie Craigie and John Swinney explained the other aspects; it is good to be able to say exactly what eco-schools are. Although in my area of Glasgow we have inner-city schools, we can create a green lung through schools, with planting and so on. Through the eco-schools scheme, schools can speak to and become involved in the community.

St Peter's Primary School in Partick, which is part of the constituency that I represent, produced a report about the benefits of the eco-schools scheme. The report says that the children have increased self-confidence and discuss in public, and with the public, issues that are important to them, something that we in Scotland have been sadly lacking over the years, according to the report. The children develop a greater awareness of the community and learn how to fit into their environment and how their actions impact on other people—that is important in relation to good citizenship as well. They also learn where Scotland stands in relation to other countries and how we all need to help other countries to develop, particularly after disasters and wars.

The children are encouraged to co-operate with other schools in the community. In the Partick area, St Peter's Primary School and Kelvinhaugh Primary School have worked together on gardening projects, which encourages friendship between the schools. The children are excited about getting involved with the Clyde River Foundation. Along with the University of Glasgow, St Peter's is raising brown trout from eggs, to release the fish into the wild. That teaches the kids exactly how the animal kingdom works. The River Kelvin is now sufficiently cleaned up that brown trout can be released into it; the trout will be monitored until they reach maturity.

The teachers have reported on the children's self-confidence, teamwork and ability to listen to others and care about what happens around them. For me, that is what eco-schools are about—caring for not just the environment but one another. The scheme promotes good citizenship.

Members have talked about funding. The number of eco-schools has increased by 800 per cent and people are asking for additional funding or a promise of enough funding to enable the scheme to extend to more secondary schools and other areas. I congratulate all the schools that have been awarded the green flag.

I join others in congratulating Cathie Craigie on securing the debate and Whitelees Primary School and the other schools in Scotland that have taken part in the scheme on achieving so much through their participation.

I have a local interest in the scheme, because I learned much from early eco-schools work that was undertaken on my doorstep. If I may be forgiven, I will single out Portobello High School in my constituency. As some people in the chamber and those who are involved in running the scheme know, that was the first secondary school in Scotland to win a green flag award.

One of the first visits that I undertook after being elected as an MSP was to that school. That opened my eyes to some of the work that was going on and could be undertaken when schools had the leadership and enthusiasm to develop the work. Since that time, the work in Portobello and nationally has progressed in leaps and bounds. I was and remain persuaded of the importance of such work in schools.

I know that many examples exist throughout the country, but I refer anybody who is in any doubt about the value of the scheme to the Porty 4 the planet website, which sets out fully and enthusiastically the range of initiatives and activities in which Portobello High School pupils have been involved for several years as part of their work, on which I congratulate them.

I am pleased that other schools, including schools in my constituency, have signed up for the programme and are moving forward. Leith Academy and Castlebrae Community High School have bronze awards. At the primary level, Towerbank Primary School, Prospect Bank School and Parsons Green have all achieved awards. I single out for special mention the Royal High Primary School, which was the first in Edinburgh to win silver status under the scheme. It is fair to say that some schools rather close to home have led the way.

Those schools have not done that in isolation—they would not mind my saying that. They have had the support of the Scottish Executive and keep Scotland beautiful. At a local level, I have been particularly impressed by the City of Edinburgh Council's work to support the scheme, in which 98 schools throughout the city now participate. I applaud the council's efforts to support that work.

I pay tribute to the Lothian and Edinburgh Environmental Partnership, with which many people who live in the Edinburgh area will be familiar. I have been hugely impressed by the work that that organisation has undertaken in recent years in partnership with a host of organisations. Initiatives include a wide range of work with local authorities on matters such as kerbside collections and targeted work in schools, which ranges from LEEP's school cans competition to an education and resource pack and project called talking rubbish, which it launched about a year and a half ago. I remember that well, because I launched it. It is very dodgy for a politician to be photographed beside a big sign that says "Talking rubbish" and I would appreciate it if members said nothing beyond that. Suffice it to say that I thought that I took that chance in a good cause.

I congratulate all those who are involved in such work. I echo strenuously the point that Cathie Craigie made at the outset, and on which others have touched, about the importance of educating and developing awareness among our youngest children. Through childhood and adult life, I had repeated arguments and fallings-out with my mother because she threw nothing out. She used to say, "That's the generation I'm of—I lived through the war years and rationing. Besides, I discovered recycling before it was trendy." I have reflected on that a lot. Some of us are part of a generation that has taken a cavalier approach to the use of the earth's resources. We need to work hard to ensure that our children do a bit better than we have.

I congratulate Cathie Craigie on bringing an important subject to the chamber. I echo Iain Smith's sentiments about Dunino Primary School. If anybody wants to see an argument for retaining all our small rural primaries, they should visit Dunino. I also echo what Alex Johnstone said about politicians and young people. Whenever I go to schools, my message is, "Don't wait for us, guys—get moving." That is a message for those people in the public gallery, too.

The excellent progress that eco-schools have made in a relatively short time is to be praised. I have had the privilege of visiting nursery, primary and secondary schools with awards and green flag status. Of particular note in my constituency are Currie High School and St Leonard's nursery. I have been particularly impressed by the whole-school approaches that I have observed and by the young people's enthusiasm and involvement.

Now that nearly half of Scotland's schools have become involved in the project, it is clear that we could probably involve all Scotland's schools with a fairly small amount of further investment. That is certainly the ambition of people on the ground and it should be the ambition of the Executive to give the schools the support that they need.

I see the eco-schools approach as an essential foundation for the teaching of sustainability, environmental education and citizenship and for the development of outdoor education and education in the outdoors. This next decade is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation decade for sustainable education development. The United Kingdom sustainable development strategy will be published on 1 March and we should be working out how we in Scotland can integrate all our local strategies to feed into the UNESCO and UK sustainability strategies. Education 21 Scotland, the Scottish sustainable secondary schools partnership and the sustainable development education liaison group have strategies and there are International Development Education Association of Scotland—IDEAS—grants for learning. There are also significant inputs from RSPB Scotland, WWF Scotland and at least seven other non-governmental organisations. Those all need to be integrated.

With all the problems that our environment faces and the threats to our survival as a species, it is surely our duty to educate a new generation of citizens with the knowledge, skills and empathy to create a new and safer society. I echo what John Swinney said about embedding those things in our education. We have made a good start with eco-schools and, if we work at it, we will soon have an ethos and atmosphere throughout our education system within which we can develop sustainability education.

What are the next steps? One must be the rapid training of serving teachers from as many disciplines as possible in the principles of sustainable development education and the introduction of courses for all teachers in all Scotland's teacher training colleges. The minister may be aware that the introduction of courses in systems thinking in initial teacher training in Dundee and Strathclyde can be a good platform on which to build further training in sustainability education.

Over the past five years, I have consistently urged ministers to consider the important aims of education that lie outside the simple imparting of knowledge. We should pay close attention to the work of the education theorist Gardner on multiple intelligences; we must recognise that the Scottish education system still tends to ignore or undervalue a whole range of skills and intelligences. Social skills of empathy and understanding, self-confidence, the ability to assess risks and many other skills—WWF, which is making a great contribution to sustainability education, has identified 12 skills—are highly susceptible to development and improvement through sustainability education, outdoor education and the eco-schools project. I urge the Executive to consider incremental increases in funding for those developments over the next five to 10 years, to identify where we want to be at the end of this decade and to get there.

I, too, congratulate Cathie Craigie and Whitelees Primary School, which must be a special school to be the 100th school in Scotland to be awarded a green flag, although I feel sorry for the schools that were 99th and 101st.

A striking feature of schools that are involved in the eco-schools initiative is the sheer enthusiasm and energy that one feels from the pupils and teachers. The initiative has captured the imagination of schools throughout Scotland. The sheer momentum and pace of development, which have been reflected in a number of speeches, testify to that.

I want to put to the minister the opportunities from an educational point of view in particular. Obviously, the eco-schools initiative is a practical example of what the national priorities are in relation to lifelong learning and active citizenship. The whole-school approach and the ethos approach are important and the democracy in pupils' councils and the eco-schools committee embodies active citizenship at an early stage. The auditing of the local environment, practical and effective links with local councils and links with other organisations are obviously important. Some 50 per cent of schools in West Lothian are involved. Eighteen schools have received a bronze award, 15 schools have received a silver award and five schools have received green flag status.

One thing that strikes me about the pupils' democratic involvement in deciding the priorities for their schools is the understanding that sustainability and environmental protection are ultimately about power and decisions. They are about local powers and decisions in schools, but they also reflect the global responsibilities that all of us have. It is a matter of learning from experience and what one does rather than simply what one says.

The eco-schools programme is a classic example of how principles can be infused through the ethos, management and activities of a school rather than through things being taught and learned in the classroom. When I have spoken to eco-schools, their message has been that they want to progress and do more. With 100 schools having received green flag status, schools are now looking to emulate the school to which Iain Smith referred.

Lowport Primary School, which achieved green flag status recently, contacted me about what it would like to ask of the minister, who might be able to help in his summing up. The school is keen for us to take a national perspective on eco-schools and to put in place a national eco-schools co-ordinator. Its concern is that although local authorities have appointed co-ordinators in their local areas, the designated officer already has a large remit in other areas of education and the environment. The school wants to ensure that there is some national co-ordination as well. Typically, the children want to know what the next step is and what they can do next. Having achieved green flag status, they are keen to see future development of the programme so that they can go beyond that.

As somebody who is related to an eco-schools committee member, I think that the perspective that they bring to the home environment is very important. Perhaps we should look at the budgets for environmental sustainability on a national level and think about the most effective way of reaching the people who make decisions about recycling in the home. If we really want to get Scotland into recycling mode to meet the targets that we have set, what more effective way could there be of doing that than by giving eco-schools the momentum, power and resources that they need? They seem to have achieved more in the past few years than many programmes in the environmental sector have achieved in a long time.

There is much educational as well as environmental value to the programme and I congratulate Cathie Craigie on bringing the debate to the chamber.

I welcome the debate and congratulate Cathie Craigie on bringing the subject to the Parliament. I also congratulate Whitelees Primary School on its achievement in gaining green flag status, as well as all the other schools that are participating in the initiative.

The eco-schools programme provides awareness-raising opportunities as well as practical experience of the importance of looking after the environment. The programme provides opportunities to make environmental issues part of the life of a school and it can be included across the curriculum, which is extremely important. It also involves young people in decision making and practical participation, which is a crucial element in schools today, and establishes links with other schools in the UK and in Europe. It is all very impressive.

When I did a bit of research on the programme, I found some of the websites fascinating. I spent some time last night looking through some of them. There are links to some wonderful stories on the environment, and it is possible to read them in different languages. I cannot wait to sit down with my nine-year-old granddaughter and look at some of those websites with her. The resources are fantastic. From learning to keep the playground tidy and learning about reducing waste, recycling and the impact of what we buy and how we dispose of it to finding more efficient ways to manage energy and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the breadth of the initiative is excellent.

The success of the programme speaks for itself, with an increase in school involvement since 2002 of more than 800 per cent. However, we must ensure that additional resources are made available to match that growth, especially to encourage the development of programmes in further and higher education establishments. That is vital if the commitment and enthusiasm that our children and young people have for the initiative are to be sustained into adulthood. If we were to raise the profile of the programme—and Scotland has the history in education and technology to do that—we could become a centre of excellence for environmental education, working with our European neighbours in promoting and leading the way in good practice.

There are wonderful opportunities for us to be leaders in the field. As a teacher, I am more than enthused by the programmes and the resources that are available. Children are learning not only about the environment from those projects but about their rights, the future and how things need to be developed in our country and in the wider world. I hope that they are also learning to be less selfish citizens who can contribute more in future.

When I think back a few years, I remember the state that some school playgrounds were in and the janitor having to go out and clean them up. It is wonderful that young people are now taking the initiative, planning and making sure that things are recycled. Rubbish is not just being picked up but being recycled. That is superb and I am sure that the janitors are happy about it, too.

I congratulate Cathie Craigie on securing this evening's excellent debate.

I echo members' congratulations to Cathie Craigie on obtaining the debate. I also congratulate her on her eloquent contribution and all members on their contributions. It has been an interesting debate and I have enjoyed it immensely.

The Scottish Executive believes strongly that education for sustainable development helps children and young people to be more aware of their actions and their impact on the environment. That is why we have committed more than £450,000 to support the eco-schools programme in Scotland and to assist the expansion of the team at keep Scotland beautiful. Today, we have also confirmed support of £225,000 each year for the next three years. That investment is from both the Executive's Education Department and the Environment and Rural Affairs Department, which reflects the cross-cutting nature of this important initiative.

The activities of the eco-schools team have helped to ensure a strong take-up of the programme. In answer to Fiona Hyslop, there is an eco-schools manager who is, in effect, a national co-ordinator of the eco-schools programme. From an initial figure of fewer than 100 schools registered in 2001, the number at January 2005 has risen to 1,673, which represents 53 per cent of Scottish schools. The team has been liaising with local authorities throughout Scotland and I am pleased to say that all 32 local authorities are now involved in the programme.

The programme celebrated its 10th anniversary by awarding Whitelees Primary School with its first green flag; the school was the 100th school to get one. Whitelees and all the other schools that have worked hard to gain their first green flag are to be congratulated on their achievement. I welcome representatives of the school to the gallery tonight and congratulate them on their achievement.

Cathie Craigie challenged us to seek out the information from our local authorities. Thirty-two schools in the Scottish Borders are now registered. Six of them have bronze awards and four have silver awards. They are Howdenburn Primary School, Kelso High School, Kirkhope Primary School and St Peter's Primary School in Galashiels. Kelso High School won a European award before the eco-schools programme was introduced and Charlie Robertson, the head teacher, is keen on the subject and the school has a very active group. I hope that it might be the school that wins the first green flag for the Scottish Borders.

Several members commented on their schools. Iain Smith mentioned Dunino Primary School's outstanding achievement of gaining the first permanent green flag. Sandra White mentioned an interesting school, St Peter's Primary in Partick, and I would be fascinated to see the trout restocking. As an angler, perhaps I should declare an interest, but I will be happy to go and wade in the River Kelvin and have a look at those trout some time.

I also intend to find out from Susan Deacon exactly where the "Talking rubbish" sign is. I confess that I will try very carefully to avoid it. John Swinney rightly mentioned Breadalbane Academy. I am pleased that there has been some progress on the matter that he raised. In an earlier debate, I said to John Swinney that it is an important type of initiative. I am sure that my colleagues can find practical solutions to the particular problems that he mentions. Robin Harper mentioned St Leonard's Nursery School in Currie; it, too, deserves praise for all that it has been doing.

It might be possible to steal the catchphrase "reuse, reduce and recycle". I do not know whether there is a copyright on it, but perhaps we could talk to Whitelees about that. It is an excellent way of encapsulating the idea of the eco-schools programme.

If members visit any school that is taking part in the eco-schools programme, they will be impressed—as everybody is—by the enthusiasm, commitment and creativity shown by the pupils and the extent to which they readily take responsibility for their action plan to improve their environmental performance. Members will find them to have a highly developed understanding of environmental issues, which can only give us confidence for the future guardianship of the environment. Members will also find that pupils are clear about their expectations as consumers. The use of consumer power to insist that manufacturers do things differently and take a more responsible approach to sustainability is a great hope for the future.

The eco-schools programme gives pupils the opportunity to consider a number of environmental issues and how they relate to their own circumstances. One of the Environment and Rural Affairs Department's key policy areas is waste management. We have in place a national waste plan, which sets a number of challenging targets to increase our recycling record and address waste reduction. However, we fully recognise that the success of the national waste plan and other environmental policies relies on co-operation and participation from the general public. The eco-schools programme is an ideal means of educating young people about the importance of public participation in protecting our environment. I hope that such messages will enable youngsters to develop good habits at a young age—whether to recycle their bottles and cans or switch off lights. I recognise that they can also inform their parents and grandparents. The point about the standby switch on the television has resonance in our family.

A number of other developments are designed to assist local authorities and schools to promote environmental awareness and to inform young people about sustainable development. Guidance and learning materials produced by the Scottish Executive and Learning and Teaching Scotland link closely to the curriculum and make it clear that education for sustainable development should be seen as cross-curricular; it should contribute to all other curricular areas. A development officer has just been appointed to Learning and Teaching Scotland to take forward a programme of work with schools and local authorities in sustainable development education.

I agree with the member—I think that it was John Swinney, but it might have been Robin Harper; forgive me as I cannot remember—who talked about "embedding" sustainability in the curriculum. There are opportunities to do that as we explore the curriculum for excellence and develop the curriculum. Such opportunities are also available in teaching. Robin Harper referred to developments in initial teacher education, but there is also continuing professional development. There are opportunities there to develop training and have refresher courses to ensure that sustainable development education is embedded in the curriculum.

Those principles should enable all young people to develop their capacities, not only as successful learners and confident individuals but as responsible citizens and effective contributors to society. The reformed three-to-18 curriculum will allow more flexibility and more opportunities for in-depth activities that extend across and beyond subjects. Learning about environmental issues and sustainable development are clear examples of such activities.

The reformed curriculum should also enable young people to become equipped with the skills to allow them to make informed decisions and to advocate the changes that they want to see. It is all well and good for young people to know what they want, but they must be able to advocate it. We see that as being an important aspect of the curriculum.

We want young adults to leave school caring about the community in which they live and the people with whom they live rather than being focused on their own needs and requirements. If we achieve that, we will have young citizens who are committed to the principles of environmental awareness and who have an understanding of the impact that their actions have on the environment and the world around them as well as of the importance of sustainable development.

This has been a good debate. I will take away members' comments and see what more we can do to develop the eco-schools programme. I look forward to visiting eco-schools, as does Peter Peacock, in the months ahead. I urge all members to take any opportunity that they have to visit such schools. I congratulate Whitelees and all the other schools that have participated in the programme so far, in particular those that have obtained green flag status but also all the others that have been working to obtain that status.

Meeting closed at 17:54.