A successful Green Week at New City College from March 20-24 followed on from students taking part in Global Goals Teach-ins for the first time – giving them practical ways to tackle the causes of climate change.
The Green Week activities also included debates and discussions on the environment, workshops on reducing food waste, screenings of the David Attenborough documentary Frozen Planet II, conservation sessions looking at bugs and forest materials, a presentation on green career paths, a ‘pledge wall’ of sustainable development goals and a hands-on cooking class showing how to create tasty meals from leftovers. There was also a collection of non-perishable food items for various local food banks.
The aim of Global Goals Teach-ins is to raise awareness of sustainable development, particularly the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Learning about these goals prepares students with the knowledge, skills and attributes to tackle the challenges arising from climate change and other global issues. They were offered during tutorial sessions to all students in the college aged 16-18.
With 67% of young people aged 16-29 in the UK saying that they are worried about climate change, Green Week and the Teach-ins gave them a chance to learn how they can make a difference.
One student said: “Climate change is real. It’s happening all around us so it’s important we all do something about it. Green Week was a good way to raise awareness that we all need to pull together to protect the environment for every human and every animal who lives on our planet.”