City to Sea – our educational partner

An estimated 1.5 to 2 billion period products are flushed in the UK each year*. People who have periods are often unaware of the amount of plastic in the period products they use, such as tampons or pads.

When these products are flushed, they can cause nasty blockages in sewers because they don’t break down. That’s why we ask everyone to only flush the 3 Ps – pee, poo and paper. Everything else should be disposed of in the bin.

Up-to-date education and samples

Rethink Periods is a free education programme for teachers and school nurses that reached over 100,000 students in its first year. It aims to provide up-to-date information about periods and their social and environmental aspects to primary and secondary schools at Key Stage 2 and 3 level.

All participating schools receive a free product demonstration box, containing period products to talk about in the classroom. As unwanted plastic waste can be a threat to the environment, these include eco-friendly alternatives, such as reusable or organic options.

The programme is now delivered all over the UK to promote the use of plastic-free products and it was a gold winner at the 2020 Global Good Awards. A Primary School teacher from London called the programme ‘five star training’.

Request your training today

If you know a school that would be interested in signing up for this free training, email rethinkperiodsadmin@citytosea.org.uk.

Find out more at rethinkperiods.org.uk.

^{*Marine Conservation Society, 2018}

Water is a precious, finite resource that is needed for life on Earth. In the UK, we are very fortunate to have some of the highest quality tap water in the world and yet many still buy water packaged in plastic bottles.  

It’s time we Rethink Water. How we use it, how we consume it and how we teach our kids about it. Our population is growing fast, and climate change is bringing greater risk of both drought and flooding. We all need to change how we understand and value water.

That’s why we’ve teamed up with City to Sea to launch Rethink Water – a free education programme that aims to empower children to become responsible consumers of water and guardians of the environment. 

Driving change at school and beyond

Designed by teachers, for teachers, the programme uncovers some of the facts and myths about bottled and tap water, educates children about why they should refill and reuse containers and enables them to discover top water-saving tips.  

The resources have been developed for Key Stage 2 students and include:

• Assembly packs that can be delivered by guest speakers
• ‘Big water day’ activities
• Lesson plans for English, Maths, Geography and Art
• Homework to encourage kids to be ambassadors for change in their homes and communities

 Signing up to the Rethink Water programme will help schools achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals targets and to achieve the UK Government target of schools going single-use plastic-free by 2022. It will also help schools be recognised in the International Eco Schools Green Flag award. 

Register your interest today

Rethink Water is being piloted at 10 schools across Southampton before being rolled-out to over 300 schools across the South of England in the next 18 months.

If you know a school that would be interested in signing up for this free training, they can register their interest by emailing rethinkwater@city to sea.org.uk.

Find out more at refill.org.uk/rethink-water.