Phase 2 – Becoming “Architects of Change”

Following on from the success of Phase 1 of the Architects of Change workshops, Phase 2 of the project launched on 8^th November 2022. Collaborating with the Schools Outreach team and funded by the Northern Ireland House Executive, an organisation which places children and young people at the forefront of a new sustainable cross community engagement programme, Architects of Change Phase 2 focuses on children from KS2 (ages 7-11) and KS3 (ages 11-14) in the early stages of their sustainable journey.

As Project Lead I’m excited to have developed an exciting programme of events to complement the previous work done on Phase 1 of the project. The six in-person sustainable workshops, delivered to local schools within the Belfast region, focuses on a variety of topics such as climate change, net-zero carbon, sustainability, natural catastrophes and the 3 R’s: Reducing, Reusing and Recycling.

Five of the six workshops will be held at the respective schools with one of the workshops to be hosted at the recently rebranded art shop on BA Block, Belfast campus, formerly known as “Unique”. Ulster University students from the Belfast School of Art will also be involved in the project and will help guide and support children in the 4^th workshop, titled “Remembering the 3 R’s: Reducing, Reusing and Recycling” — where Unique branded tote bags will be up-cycled to be given a new lease of life. The children will be able to bring these personalised tote bags home and use them in their daily lives to showcase the importance of reusing and recycling.

This unique collaboration between KS2 and KS3 school students, Ulster University students and Schools Outreach will be a recipe for fruitful partnerships and hopefully will elevate and enhance the project’s desired outcomes of continued outreach into our local communities.

These children’s workshops will feature arts and crafts, worksheet activities, and interactive games. There will additionally be a final workshop on sustainability where children will learn how to make their own “mini world”, a miniature terrarium using recycled items.