What a day we had at Holme Valley Campsite to celebrate World Environment Day! It was the first ever outdoor ECO conference we have organised, so we were thrilled to welcome 7 schools – over 70 delegates – to celebrate the planets diversity and raise awareness of the role we all play in looking after our local environments.
Surrounded by blue skies, towering trees, and the sound of the river we were able to clearly demonstrate how we are all connected in our world. That every action we take has an impact somewhere, and it’s up to each of us to make that impact a positive one. Throughout the day, students and teachers alike were encouraged to think about local and global environments and were empowered to take their own little steps to change the world.
Everybody took part in four workshops throughout the day: each one focussing on a different aspect of our environment. With Grow to School there were dirty hands and happy faces as students explored different soil types and the benefits of composting – for a start it’s a great way to recycle food waste! In the fairandfunky workshop students learnt about food chains and how important it is to maintain a sustainable balance in our ecosystems and how climate change can affect this. Everyone then made a recycled juice carton bird feeder! Students used all their senses to explore the woodland with Yorkshire Muddings and learnt simple tree identification techniques. And with Water Explorers students discovered lots of water facts and how we need to use water sustainably.
There were activities at lunchtime too from our conference partners. Central England Coop engaged delegates in cooperative games, shared fruit and discussed healthy choices. Whilst Suma Wholefoods shared all the ways they refill, reuse, reduce and recycle with the products they sell; even gifting each school with a refillable washing up liquid bottle for the staff room! A huge thank you to them both for supporting the fairandfunky ECO conference.
The conference closed with certificate presentations to each school and thanks to River Holme Connections each school were also given a native tree sapling for their school grounds. We hope, that like the trees, the ideas and inspiration taken from todays conference will grow and bloom into something wonderful. That schools across Kirklees will continue to take their own little steps to change the world – on World Environment Day and every day.
DATE FOR YOUR DIARY! The next fairandfunky outdoor ECO conference will take place on Wednesday 5th June 2024. Please email helen@fairandfunky.com for a booking form.
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