In order to carbon offset the Biology trip to Mexico last term, a group of us going on the expedition spent a proportion of our time in the Lower Sixth planning activities to raise money for a charity in Mexico that plants trees to combat the current levels of carbon in the atmosphere.
With the help of the rest of the members, we calculated that around £200 should be raised to adequately carbon offset for a return flight to Cancun and the coach journey into the jungle. In order to do this, we decided to wash teachers’ cars in the school car park. After Jelle Degen and I both volunteered to lead this event we had various meetings to decide how much to charge and we also looked into how to wash cars in an effective way with a low impact on the environment. We then decided on a week to hold the event and we started advertising. With the help of the rest of the students, we asked various teachers whether they would be interested in having their car washed, we also made a sign-up sheet to pin up in the teachers’ lounge. Jelle and I also created a rota including all of the students going on the trip to help out with washing the cars. Each lunchtime session we managed to wash around six cars, charging £5 a car.
In order to increase our carbon offsetting, everyone going on the expedition made the decision to reduce their meat consumption, especially of beef and lamb, as raising livestock contributes significantly to global warming. Some of us have continue to do this on a long term basis.
We are grateful to C-level, who helped us get our money to where it needed to go; a Mexican reforestation organisation called Scolel’te. Why not think about carbon offsetting your own emissions via their website.
Ella Roberts, Upper Sixth
