Kunle Barker Visits BMS for 'Kilo by Kilo' Campaign

On Wednesday 03 November, OBM Kunle Barker (1984-91) visited BMS to speak to groups of students about sustainability and the impact we can have on the environment in our everyday lives. This was part of his ‘Kilo by Kilo’ campaign, which sees Kunle travelling the country to speak to different groups about how they can reduce their carbon output by making gradual changes.

He met with students in the Sixth Form and the Junior School, as well as the BMS Eco Club, answering a range of questions from them relating to environmental conscientiousness and climate change. His audiences were particularly interested in sustainability as it pertains to Kunle's speciality of property development, and how we can build and alter homes to be as energy efficient as possible.

Members of staff were then interviewed by Kunle about steps that the faculty have taken to highlight sustainability and environmental issues at the School. Head of Catering, Olga Wafer, and Hannah Irvine, Sustainability and Environmental Manager, spoke on behalf of Holroyd Howe which caters for BMS. The company has recently introduced measures to control waste, such as moving away from plastic cutlery and takeaway containers, weighing food waste and adjusting portion sizes accordingly, and introducing students to plant-based meat alternatives which require far less water and land to produce than normal animal products.

Following his visit, Kunle commented: “The School is doing an excellent job with the students, and I was so happy to have been able to come back and meet some of them. I was genuinely astonished at how seriously BMS has taken the issues around sustainability. It was clear that these issues have been integrated into the Schools’ curriculum.”

He then left the School to drive to COP26 in an electric car where he spoke on several panels and discussed the 'Kilo by Kilo' campaign, launched in conjunction with the ITV television programme ‘Save Money – My Beautiful Green Home’ which Kunle co-presented, alongside journalist Ranvir Singh.