Winchester College welcomes pupils from across the county for the Hampshire Climate Conference
The annual Hampshire Climate Conference recently took place at Winchester College and was attended by more than 200 pupils and teachers from 15 local schools. Participants took part in a wide variety of different workshops by the Final Straw Foundation, Wessex Rivers Trust, the University of Southampton, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, as well as pupils from the College's Sustainability Society.
Sessions from the Final Straw Foundation on sustainable packaging and plastic pollution highlighted the importance of protecting our seas from pollution. A workshop on grassroots adaptations to climate change challenged students to identify a climate, environmental or coastal change and discuss what the impacts were, who is affected and who has the power to make a change. There was also a climate change card sort, sampling of river invertebrates and ecological surveys.
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust led an ecology based escape room that considered the effects on river ecology, while pupils from the Winchester College Sustainability Society led a development trading game which allowed students to explore issues in an interactive way.
The event also welcomed guest speakers, Arun Curson and Gareth Boyes who both inspired the pupils to make a difference. Arun Curson is a Wildlife Trust Young Changemaker Award Winner and he talked about his voluntary work monitoring coastal wildlife. He encouraged participants to make a difference by volunteering with their local wildlife organisations. Gareth Boyes from Hampshire Youth Parliament compiled a video using humour to get across the importance of taking action to prevent further warming and climate change. This included footage at climate rallies and interviews with young people who are committed to making a difference.
Our thanks go to the Hampshire Youth Parliament volunteers who helped the day run so smoothly and facilitated the workshops.
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