School Workshop: Climate Culture (year 5 and 6)

This workshop helps pupils to understand that there are solutions to climate change. They will see what we are doing in response to climate change at the Eden Project and learn how they can be part of the solution.

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Workshop overview

Climate change is the challenge of our lifetime but humans are creative and brilliant problem solvers. We can work together to meet the challenge - lots of people, organisations, businesses and governments already are.

This session was written to illustrate that the solutions are out there, we know what we need to do, and that we can all play a positive part in tackling the climate emergency. Organisations are adapting how they operate in response to the challenge and Eden is leading the way. Individuals can take inspiration and ideas from these organisations and put them into practice in their own lives.

What happens in the workshop

Your students will begin the session by developing their understanding of what climate change actually is and why everybody is talking about it. They will learn about the causes and effects of climate change and be introduced to the idea that dealing with it (and the impacts of it) has become the challenge of our time!

Students will then be introduced to the concept of a carbon footprint. They will learn that this is a useful way for us to think about the impacts of our actions and how almost everything we do, make, and use causes carbon dioxide (or other greenhouse gases) to be released into the atmosphere and contribute to the size of our carbon footprints!

Students will then explore the Eden Project by decoding a set of clues and using maps to help them find particular locations around the site. At each location, they will learn what we are doing to reduce our carbon footprint, record examples of good practice and collect a special 'solutions' token.

We will end the session by sharing the solutions that the students have found and by discussing how the children can apply these ideas to reduce their own carbon footprints. Finally, students will discover how we can all tackle climate change together.

Visiting teacher

“ One of the most educationally rich venues to have taken groups to visit. I would hope all pupils at our school could visit on a rite of passage. ”

Practical information

This workshop enables students to:

Explain what climate change is and why it is happening;
Discuss the idea of a ‘carbon footprint’ and how carbon dioxide is ‘embedded’ into of lifestyles;
Discover what Eden is doing to reduce its carbon footprint;
Suggest actions we can all take at school and home to reduce our own carbon footprints.

We've designed the workshop to complement the following syllabuses:

Key stage 2 Geography: In KS2 Human Geography pupils should study types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links, and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water.

Key stage 2 Science: In KS2 science pupils should recognise that environments can change and that this can sometimes pose dangers to living things.

The workshop costs £8.50 per pupil with a minimum charge of £170 per group (includes VAT). Maximum group size is 35. The cost includes:

a facilitated workshop with our Education Team
free access to the Eden site for the day
all equipment needed for the workshop
free teaching resources enabling your class to prepare for the workshop and to follow up on the activity
a personal welcome from the Education Team at the entrance
a base for your bags in our purpose-built education centre, The Core
a space to eat your own lunch

The price includes free entry for accompanying adult helpers, whose participation is essential to the success of the day (please note our suggested adult/pupil ratios are as follows: Early Years Foundation Stage, 1:3; Key Stage 1, 1:6; Key Stage 2 and 3, 1:10; Key Stage 4, 1:15; Key Stage 5, 1:20). You’re welcome to bring more helpers if you’d like. Additional helpers are charged at our group booking rate.

We also offer a free preparatory visit to Eden for teachers wanting to plan their school trip, which should be booked in advance.