The Blackpool Sixth Form College's Eco Week
Blackpool 6th Form students hold a week of events and actions to raise awareness of climate chaos.
P&P Campaign Advocate Jane Stratton addressing Blackpool Students
students chalking a map of the deadly effects of climate change.
The week was organised by The Blackpool Sixth Form College Eco Council, a group which has only been in existence since September. The group has created an action plan for a greener college and wanted to publicise the plan more widely and so came up with the idea of a week of environmentally-themed events. Another aim of the week was to raise awareness about climate change and its likely effects here and across the world,
The week kicked off with the showing of a specially produced short film, directed and filmed by a member of the group. The film, which was shown in General Studies lessons throughout the week, highlighted in a very entertaining way the need to do something positive about climate change.
On Tuesday, the group held an event entitled “Rising Tide” which featured music, extracts from the film “An Inconvenient Truth” and a workshop with Jane Stratton, a People & Planet Campaign Advocate. Jane’s informative session went down very well with students and inspired them with the message that there is a whole movement of young people in the UK campaigning on climate change and development issues. The group already use a great amount of People & Planet materials and are now very keen to be an active part of the P&P network.
The week was rounded off with a “Wear It Green” and “Cut Your Carbon Footprint” day. Students and staff were encouraged to choose climate friendly forms of transport and show their support for the cause by wearing something green. Members of the Eco Council drew in chalk a large scale map of the world in the central courtyard of the college with labels which pointed to the damage already being done by climate change. The day also had a fundraising element with over £200 raised to buy solar-powered water pumps for isolated developing world communities. Students were shocked to find out that one in six of the world’s population do not have access to safe drinking water and that this situation is likely to worsen considerably as the effects of climate change fall on the world’s poorest.
Overall, the group feels that the week has really advanced the climate change campaign in the college and has linked together the message of protecting the environment with the need to address poverty and injustice.
People & Planet are organising Go Green weeks nationally for the week 16-24 February (if this is your half term then hold it on the week either before or after). So if you would like to organise your own eco week People & Planet can supply you with resources later in the Autumn term. Contact Alex in the People & Planet office for information and advice on planning your local Go Green Week.