About the workshops
These free children’s workshops, aimed at KS2 and KS3 school children and spread across the entire academic year, will merge theory with practice and engage, inform, and educate school children on topics such as climate change, sustainability, natural catastrophes and the 3 R’s: Reducing, Reusing and Recycling. By connecting with our younger generation, we hope to inspire all those who call Belfast, and Northern Ireland, their home that Belfast is an ambitious “green” city with a focus on improving its citizens’ lives whilst promoting the UK’s net zero 2050 goal. Pupils will focus on next steps for implementing these skills into their daily lives, their schools, and their local communities.
Delivery of 12 workshops — 6 each for the two age-groups in KS2 and KS3 — will utilise worksheets, quizzes, and discussion exercises to form part of the programme and will be a timely opportunity to discuss the development of sustainability in Belfast, youth involvement and improving our communities impacted by climate change.
During the training programme, each school cohort will undertake a discreet supplementary school project, with a prize-giving ceremony for best supplementary project held at the end of the academic year. Each project will require a visual diary and independent adjudication will take place to select the winning project.
Towards the end of the project, participants will undertake a biodiversity nature hike (with support from each school) in a location such as Cavehill Country Park. The day-long event will allow school pupils to mix outdoors, understand what biodiversity is and how ecosystems exist. To bring the project to a close, pupils will be invited to a graduation and prize-giving ceremony, hosted on the new Belfast campus.
Pupils will also receive a certificate upon completion of the project. We additionally aspire to have the programme made available online through the Schools Outreach website.