Building upon the achievements of Phases 1 and 2, the workshops continue to impart information to children regarding crucial sustainability topics such as climate change and their carbon footprints. Additionally, the workshops will also encourage and motivate the children to collaborate to cultivate, value, and safeguard their local communities for future generations.
About the workshops
Phase 3 continues to provide complimentary educational workshops for children, specifically targeting students in Key Stage 2 (KS2). However, the workshops are now concentrated in the Northwest region of Northern Ireland, which will conduct 36 workshops across the North Coast with the aid of the Ulster University Schools Outreach Team.
Along with the new project lead, the six in-person workshops for each school will take place both within schools and at the Ulster University campuses in Coleraine and Magee. Each workshop will continue integrating theoretical concepts with practical applications to educate and inspire schoolchildren on various subjects, including climate change, sustainability, natural disasters, and the principles of reducing, reusing, and recycling. The workshops will feature activities through artistic expression, worksheets, practical exercises, upcycling and interactive games to teach sustainability. They will now also aim to instil in KS2 children a sense of responsibility towards their local communities and the environment.
Following the programme's conclusion, each KS2 school will come together for a biodiversity field excursion to nearby sites, such as the ECOS Centre Nature Park in Antrim. This outdoor educational experience aims to foster an appreciation for the abundant natural resources and biodiversity that are readily accessible to students. The students will then be honoured with a graduation day where they will be conferred as "Architects of Change”.
Through engaging with our younger generation, the workshops seek to motivate the future citizens of Northern Ireland to enhance their lives while advancing the UK's net zero 2050 objective. This involves encouraging practices that promote environmental sustainability and addressing the root causes and potential consequences of climate change. Additionally, we seek to cultivate a sense of placemaking and community engagement in children, fostering their appreciation for the environment and encouraging them to incorporate environmental preservation and stewardship practices into their daily lives, schools, and local communities.
Workshop Content
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Workshop 1: Becoming Architects of Change
An introductory workshop with an emphasis on climate change issues, the significance of assuming the role of a "changemaker," and comprehension of the Sustainable Development Goals. We then engage in a discussion and investigation into how we should preserve nature. Through two art activities, we design a poster that expresses our admiration for the splendour of our natural environment and how we can help to protect the environment through our own superpowers.
Learning Outcomes
Comprehend the climate issue and articulate the effects of human activity on natural resources. Familiarise yourself with the net-zero agenda of the United Kingdom and ways in which we can progress and achieve sustainability.
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Workshop 2: Lessons Learned from Other Countries
This workshop concentrates on the insights that can be gained from other nations as well as the remarkable progress that nations and young people have made in their efforts to combat climate change. Through artwork, children will express their views regarding climate change and describe what changes they would make to their living environment to combat the issue.
Learning Outcomes
Gaining insights from the climate initiatives of other nations, comprehending their successful practices, and considering how local communities can incorporate these concepts.
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Workshop 3: Caring about Carbon
A workshop that explains what carbon is, why it is important to reduce our carbon footprint, and how we can improve our natural and constructed environment through an examination of our positive and negative actions. Art activities comprise the application of stickers to a weekly carbon footprint inventory in the form of a painted "footprint."
Learning Outcomes
Comprehend fundamental information regarding carbon and its environmental effects, encompassing both construction and natural settings.
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Workshop 4: Remembering the three R's - Reducing, Reusing and Recycling
A workshop on upcycling that emphasises the significance of reducing, reusing, and recycling in order to prevent pollution and repurpose otherwise unwanted items. Activities include upcycling T-shirts and tote bags using personal items from the participant's home and constructing terrariums using discarded glass vessels.
Learning Outcomes
Comprehend and engage in discussions regarding the ways in which deforestation, pollution, and climate change affect the planet and its inhabitants. Recognise the significant role that reduction, recycling, and reuse play in our pursuit of sustainability.
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Workshop 5: Sustainability
An examination of the significance of sustainability and the integration of sustainable practices with the potential of renewable energy sources, utilising local and community examples to underscore the criticality of sustainable actions. Activities include constructing a net-zero home and word searches.
Learning Outcomes
Recognise how updating and renovating older buildings to conform to contemporary standards positively impacts the environment. Possess the ability to articulate how renewable energy can contribute to maximum sustainability.
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Workshop 6: Our Space and Place
The concluding workshop will inspire the youngsters to nurture and value their communities while applying the environmental knowledge and abilities they have recently gained through the workshops to safeguard the environment.
The workshop will explore the beauty of Northern Ireland to instil in the children a sense of place and belonging. This will encourage them to promote practices of environmental preservation and stewardship while also encouraging active participation within their community. Which will ultimately have a collective impact on their surroundings in the present and future.
Lessons Learned
By cultivating a sense of communal pride, the children will be encouraged to rethink their everyday places, such as public buildings and parks, and give them a strong shared vision and a sense of communal pride by also fostering an appreciation for our shared space with the natural world through our ecosystems to nurture nature and inspire them to develop environmentally conscious behaviours and make ongoing habits that protect their space and ecosystems.