The Inspire Sustainability team were invited to give a keynote speech and lead a workshop at the Cabot Learning Federation’s ECO Schools Conferences in June.
Year 12 students from several schools across the West of England took part in an ECO Conference at UWE Bristol on 27th June, whilst primary and secondary students from CLF eco-clubs across many schools gathered together in Weston Super Mare at Winterstoke Hundred Acedemy on the 28th June.
Dr Laura Fogg-Rogers led a workshop for Year 12 students on youth climate communications and Josh Warren gave a keynote speech about climate action, discussing a range of sustainability topics including what net-zero means, the challenges in reaching it, the need for green skills, and how they relate to green jobs.
The teams also held stands for the student attendees to interact with sustainability-focussed STEM activities including the West in Minecraft and the Engineering Curiosity career cards.
Also at the conference, held at the Winterstoke Hundred Academy, were other stalls dedicated to climate action and sustainability, such as the fight against Bristol Airport expansion, how to reduce your food miles, and the UN’s Sustainable Development goals. There was also an interactive panel-game style discussion with Tom Walmsley from the Ministry or Eco Education, discussing which party has responsibility for climate action in various everyday situations.
The conference proved a real success with the students feeling empowered to take renewed climate action back to their respective schools, and be more equipped to make a meaningful impact.
To learn more about the Inspire Sustainability team, or if you have questions about their outreach, please email engineeringourfuture@uwe.ac.uk
To find out about the sustainability-focussed STEM activities that the team offer, and how to book them, please visit https://www.digitaltrailblazers.net/resources/
To learn more about the CLF Eco Conference, please contact sam.hodder@clf.uk
