every action has a reaction so make yours count
ECO WEEK 2022: REDUCE. REUSE. RECYCLE. Sue Mulholland examines the difficult themes raised by Eco Week
H ow do we begin responding to the constant mes- saging of apocalyptic fallout from climate change? According to Major Alistair Beard (who launched our Eco Week society talks) we begin by understanding ourselves, communicating, shifting the culture, collaborat- ing and investing in green education. Our opening assem- blies, delivered by Chief Operating Officer, Simon Yiend, and our sustainability prefects Alvaro De Calonje Carde- rara (Year 13) and Max Meyohas (Year 12), reflected on the changes the College has made and explored what we need to do next – together. We were left with a message of hope: we can stop global warming and we can do it in a decade if we all commit to making changes small and large – every action has a reaction so make yours count. Year 9 began their week with a talk from climate change expert and founder of Target4Green Peter Milne, and then spent the day in English creating dystopian collages and
written pieces. Their terrifyingly real and surreal stories explore ‘what if’ we don’t make the necessary changes and advances. Throughout the week Year 8 Dance and Drama pupils performed Drowning in Plastic to audiences in the Lower and Junior Schools. This dovetailed with their JAGS and Dulwich College Science free learning day talk from Sarah Duffy of Common Seas: Plastic Ocean Academy, who took them ‘out to sea’ to explore the problem with plastic – ‘it’s not plastic that is the problem, it’s not a bad material, it’s how we use it that is the issue’. They then made their own polymers out of potatoes and discussed what a zero-waste lifestyle could be like. Are we up for this challenge? Year 7s from Dulwich College and JAGS took part in a Geography and DT free learning day, working collabora- tively to respond to trends around urban greening, climate
change and biodiversity in cities. This fed into designing and making planters from recycled materials and tyres which will be coming to outdoor spaces near you very soon. On the theme of reuse and recycle, we were de- lighted to receive over a dozen bags of clothes donated by pupils in the Middle School for the charity Little Lives. Our Foundation School Eco Ambassadors came together (rivalling COP27), led by Target4Green’s Peter Milne, to dissect our sustainability impact report and to explore how they can develop impactful change starting in their own school communities. Our societies were very well attended during Eco Week and lots of Climate Change Society ties were awarded. Biology Soc made connections between pandemics and climate change (part of which involved a gruesome rat dissection). Politics Soc went from grassroots politics to grassy spaces in discussion with Matt Wilcock OA about his experience as a Liberal Democrat election campaign manager and his transition to working for Bankside Open Spaces Trust, a community gardening charity. Further highlights included an ‘In Conversation’ with Anna Brightman and SSLP pupils; she talked about her brand UpCircle and how to set up your own sustainable business. LitSoc saw four sessions for the price of one: a vintage four-way teacher panel on ‘Non-Eastern Ameri- can Landscapes’ surveyed settings in American literature from the North (Mrs Cartwright), Midwest (Mr Sutton), South (Ms West) and West (Ms Milton) – southern houses,
fast cars, stunning artwork, urban grime and Oliver Green reading Jack Kerouac. Anthea Simmons, author of the Trinity Schools Book Award-shortlisted YA novel Burning Sunlight , zoomed in for the Book Awards Shadowing Club to talk about her novel and answer pupils’ questions. Philip Kent discussed ‘technology, renewables and circular economy mapping out a route to decarbonisation’ with Climate Change Soc. In Geography lessons all week Year 7 pupils visited the College Archives to explore melting sea ice. Using Shackleton’s story as a starting point, they looked at the themes of sustainability and conscious consumption on expeditions. Every Science lesson began with a philo- sophical open question designed to be thought provoking
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