It is time to get nominating for this year's Green Guardian Awards and one of the key awards will honour schools across the borough which are doing their bit for the environment.

The 2008 awards wants one green fingered primary and secondary school in Kingston in the best green school category.

Whether it is creating a vegetable garden or teaching pupils about climate change, we want you to nominate a school for the prestigious award.

Showing budding eco-schools the way forward is St John's CofE primary school, winner of the 2007 award for green primary school.

The 255 pupils at the Portland Road school engaged in a host of activities to help the environment, including a litter club, eco-newsletter and the introduction bike racks to encourage children to cycle to school.

The school also holds a green flag award, the highest accolade achievable under the government's Eco-Schools programme.

Headteacher Damian Tucker said: "After winning the award we are now looking at how we can reduce our energy levels and what waste we produce.

"The children are very aware of the issues and the sooner they learn the more of a norm it becomes. The children here are absolutely brilliant and always coming up with their own ideas on how we can improve through the newsletter, our half-term eco-meetings or through the school council."

A conservation area and classroom recycling are just some of the ways Tolworth Girls' School is doing its bit to become eco-friendly.

As winners of last year's green secondary school award, science teacher Michael Craven said the school hoped to build on these successful schemes.

He said: "We now hope to create a garden area which can be a wildlife haven and include flowers and a herb area. It is a key ethos for the school to promote green issues and the plasma screens we have in our foyer and the school newsletter ensures everyone in the school knows what we're doing and how they can get involved."

For more information on the awards, call Liz Waters on 020 8329 9252 or click here