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Al Gore: School's just a-maze-ing

Katherine Vine
9/ 5/2008

FORMER US presidential hopeful turned eco campaigner Al Gore has praised a Sale Primary school for its green initiatives.

The climate change crusader met Laura Daniels, headteacher of Woodheys Primary School, when the school won an Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy last year.

Presenting her with a cheque for £15,000, he commended the school’s environmental commitment – it recently installed solar panels and encourages children to walk to classes.

The school is now set to unveil a maze in the school grounds that some of the prize money was put towards.

Mrs Daniels said: "The Ashden Awards are a national recognition and we were up against another school in Devon.

"When we went to the awards ceremony in London we still had no idea whether we had won – when Al Gore opened the envelope and read our name out we were stunned.

"Al Gore thanked us for the work we are doing with children. We had an opportunity to quickly chat to him before the ceremony, as we had a little stall, and he came round to chat to all the nominees. He was very complimentary about our work with children, as children are the future of our planet.

"It was great to be able to meet him, as he is our environmental hero, and I had the opportunity to thank him for what he has achieved and the positive energy he has distributed around the world."

The school pledged to use the money to share their good practice. Its staff also since attended the Commonwealth Secretariat in March and the three-day parliamentary conference in November last year, where Mrs Daniels was the penultimate speaker.

The school is about to open a peace garden featuring a labyrinth created from boxed hedging used in a display at the Southport Flower Show.

It has solar-powered water features and lighting and will be open to the public.

On May 23 it will be officially opened at a ceremony to which faith leaders and other prominent local figures have been invited.

"The children will be presenting poetry and songs for peace they have written, and at the centre of the labyrinth there will be images for global peace," Mrs Daniels said.