03/11/2025
CONGRATULATIONS Cumbrae Primary School 🙌
Cumbrae Primary School has been awarded the Eco-Schools Green Flag. A huge achievement for such a small island school, its pupils, teachers, parents and wider community and yet another reason for us to be exceptionally proud of our younger generation on Cumbrae.
This global award is assessed by Keep Scotland Beautiful, and it recognises schools that embed sustainability into their daily learning and life, from the classroom to the playground, to the home. Not just a tick-box exercise, it requires a genuine hands-on journey of discovery led by the young people themselves to care about the island and its future. As with everything they do, Cumbrae Primary really embraced everything this award stands for.
Their "Caring for Marine Life" project, alongside well known local artist Harry Sutton, Drawing and Painting, was highlighted in particular by the award assessor. Pupils explored beach litter, marine waste, and ocean biodiversity, transforming their learning into striking artwork that now inspires others and hosted a public exhibition in Garrison House. The assessors described it as "a brilliant combination of creativity and environmental education", praising the thoughtful reflection and planning from pupils shown throughout.
The school’s focus on greener playgrounds, healthy eating, and reducing waste has brought sustainability into everyday routines, be it rainwater harvesting and growing areas, to beach cleans connecting learning with community action. Even the lessons learned from things that didn’t quite work such as their "drought-stricken" indoor plants became opportunities for learning and growth.
The achievement also highlights the role of Dianne Smith, our CNI Project Engagement Officer for Cumbrae and herself a retired primary school teacher, and has supported the school throughout their Eco-Schools journey. Her guidance, encouragement and hands-on help have been instrumental, organising the Cumbrae Primary School Eco Committee, and linking the pupils' efforts to the wider Carbon Neutral Islands Project.
The Green Flag demonstrates what is possible when education, creativity, and community come together with purpose. Our young people really are helping to shape Cumbrae’s work towards carbon neutrality in 2040.
It’s been almost 3 years since I became the Community Development Officer on Cumbrae for the CNI Project and we have done a lot in that time, however, this is one of the achievements I am most proud of. It’s a reminder of what our 2040 Carbon Neutral ambition on Cumbrae is really about. Yes, it is about reducing emissions, improving energy efficiency, and delivering a just transition - but at its heart, the CNI Project it’s about people and community.
When Cumbrae Primary School pupils learn to care for marine life, to value nature, and to take pride in sustainable choices, it's not just following a curriculum, they're laying a solid foundation for a generation that will think differently about energy, transport, agriculture, waste and how we live on this island.
Congratulations to each of the pupils at Cumbrae Primary School and the dedicated staff and parents for this well deserved recognition. Fly your Green Flag with pride.
