In the shortlist for the Surfers Against Sewage Awards announced on Monday, Damers First School has been shortlisted for School Champion.
Damers First School’s submission included winning four awards in the Young Enterprise Fiver Challenge last year, launching Refill Dorchester an signing up 25 businesses in one afternoon, leading a campaign to make Dorchester single use plastic free and achieving this status in July being the 3rd location in Dorset and the 67th Location in the UK. The children signed up 84 businesses to remove at least 3 single use plastics as well as inspire other schools to work towards becoming a Plastic Free School. They also got community organisations on board to support their work too. Inspiring the local community to recycle items that you cannot recycle at the curb side. Some children went to Westminster to meet Michael Gove to discuss the importance of an ‘all in’ system for the Deposit Recycle Scheme with support from CPRE and Litter Free Dorset amongst other important sustainable initiatives.
Surfers Against Sewage received 850 nominations for the ten awards. The awards were shortlisted by an all-star judging panel that included Ben Fogle, Hugo Tagholm, CEO of Surfers Against Sewage, Helen Glover, Double Olympic Champion, Gillain Burke, BBC Wildlife Presenter, Liz Bonnin, Blue Planet Live and Drowning in Plastic Presenter, Lucy Siegle, Reporter/Presenter on the One Show, Richard Walker CEO of Iceland.
Edd Moore, Eco Coordinator said ‘We are so overwhelmed to have been shortlisted for the Surfers Against Sewage Awards. The children have been leading their plastic campaign for over two years with so much passion and enthusiasm. This is a significant recognition of the school’s work in this area and one which our whole community should feel incredibly proud of.’
The winners will be revealed at a ceremony on Thursday 21st November at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery.
