ISZL High School Awarded Eco-Schools Green Flag for Biodiversity

We are proud to be recognised with the Eco-Schools Green Flag Award for Biodiversity, celebrating the work of our students and wider community to strengthen biodiversity, raise environmental awareness, and embed sustainability education across the school.

The Green Flag is awarded through the international Eco-Schools programme, administered in Switzerland by J’aime ma Planète, and recognises schools that demonstrate a sustained and structured commitment to improving their environmental impact. ISZL’s latest project focused on biodiversity, with the Eco-Schools jury highlighting student participation and empowerment, community engagement, and the team’s collaborative approach as particular strengths.

The High School Eco-Schools team, which met weekly throughout the 2025/26 school year, took an active role in shaping the direction of the project.

Students were involved throughout the Eco-Schools Seven Steps, which includes gathering information, identifying priorities, developing ideas, planning initiatives, and putting them into action. The jury particularly praised the high level of ownership and responsibility demonstrated by students throughout the process.

The project began with a student-developed sustainability audit exploring the school community’s perceptions of biodiversity, connections with nature and expectations for the project. Responses from students, parents and staff then helped the team identify priorities and develop an action plan.

From there, different groups of students took responsibility for projects that reflected their interests and strengths.

Initiatives included the creation of bug hotels, homeroom planting projects, a biodiversity scavenger hunt, and the planning of an outdoor gym in collaboration with ISZL’s Operations team. Together, the projects were designed to support the environment, and explore the connections between biodiversity, education, and wellbeing.

Bringing Biodiversity to Life

The Eco-Schools jury highlighted the variety of hands-on experiences created by students as one of the project’s greatest strengths.

The biodiversity treasure hunt was particularly praised for encouraging students to explore their surroundings with curiosity and discover more about the natural environment around them. The homeroom planting competition was also recognised for finding an engaging way to involve a broad range of students in a practical experience with biodiversity.

The impact could also be seen in growing interest across the school community. The Eco-Schools team observed increased awareness of biodiversity and its connection to wellbeing, alongside greater participation in gardening activities and the creation of a new gardening club.

Students studying Environmental Systems and Societies were also able to connect classroom learning about ecology with practical gardening work undertaken through the project, creating important links between academic learning and action on campus.

A Community Effort

While students were at the centre of the project, its success relied on participation from across ISZL.

The whole-school Eco-Committee brought together student and teacher representatives from the High School, Middle School and Primary School, as well as parents. The High School team also worked closely with homeroom teachers, Operations and Facilities colleagues to turn student ideas into practical initiatives.

Throughout the year, the wider community was invited to participate through competitions, school-wide activities and awareness campaigns, while sustainability newsletters, bulletins, assemblies, social media and displays helped share the team’s work and encourage further involvement.

The jury praised this clear and participatory approach, noting the strong collaboration, coordination and commitment demonstrated by the Eco-Schools team throughout the project.

Our Sustainability Journey Continues

Receiving the Green Flag is both a celebration of what has been achieved and an encouragement to keep building on this work.

As part of its feedback, the Eco-Schools jury encouraged students to continue exploring the biodiversity already present on the school grounds and to monitor initiatives such as planting and bug hotels over time. This provides an opportunity for future students to continue observing, documenting and evaluating how biodiversity develops across the campus.

The Eco-Schools Green Flag Award is valid for 24 months, until July 2028, recognising ISZL High School’s commitment to continuous improvement in sustainability and sustainability education.

Congratulations to our Eco-Schools students, staff and everyone across the ISZL community who contributed to this achievement!

Read the full Eco-Schools Report