Go Green Week’s final theme of re-using was interpreted in two key ways – the students organised building an igloo in the university’s own nursery from old milk cartons as well as inviting the Malvern Repair Café to visit.
Malvern Repair Café is run by friendly volunteers who set up shop once a month. They are open to the public and welcome any items that need to be mended or repaired. This is such a sweet and caring idea for not only the public, but for the environment! They see the good in items others may think to throw away. With each of the volunteers talents in many different trades, as well as experience and knowledge, anything is possible. Such as the volunteer John Bibby who I spoke with today, his expertise in sharpening may be just what your item needs! Your broken items can be invariably fixed… for free! The students really appreciated their help and time today.
Throughout the day the first year sustainability students completed the project they have been working on throughout Go Green Week: Building an igloo.
The idea was created with the children in the nursery on campus in mind. Hazel who manages Unitots is always looking for new and inspiring ways to teach the children about sustainability. Perhaps by the end of the week with so many enthusiastic students helping to create and cover the igloo build she might have been reconsidering…any way we saw the children loved it and hope it’ll get lots of play and use (re-use!). The nursery staff will explain to the children that items such as milk bottles can be re-used and up-cycled into – in this case – an igloo for Pearl the Polar bear.
As children grow up, childhood is one of the most important stages. I believe inspiring children to ‘be green’, to re-use, to recycle in interesting and exciting new ways they can learn important habits that can lead to a more sustainable future as they, more importantly more than students are the people that will make changes that impact our future on earth. Reaching our set aim, we can now change today in order to protect tomorrow.
As you can see, it was my turn to play Pearl today. My Polar Bear ice kingdom of an igloo made out of recycled milk bottles fits me just right! It was really rewarding seeing the little ones smile at the recognisable mascot of the Student’s Union as I waved ‘hello’. Freya Jones from Unitots was keen to help out, and was much appreciated!
Later in the day I collected my own free chilli plant from the sustainability students in the Student Union. Their aim was to gather your location by post code to see where the plants will be planted. By doing this they can see what new species the plant introduces.
My new addition to my room is one of the chilli plant’s whom I named ‘Evergreen’ – running with the theme of Go Green Week – she will sit in my window until she grows to big and is needed to be re-planted into the ground.
Above is Katie Amey a student on the sustainability elective module watering the chilli plants.
Concluding, Go Green Week of 2015 has been a success! The University of Worcester has been jam packed with activities and opportunities that students can take part in, as their eyes and my own eyes have been opened to ways in which we can have a more sustainable future! I am thankful to the students and staff who have organised Go Green Week and am thankful to have been part of it!
Go Green!
CHANGE TODAY PROTECT TOMORROW
Hello!
That is very kind of you to say as I am just starting out. I just give thanks to the sustainability students and staff… if they didn’t do such a great job in Go Green Week I wouldn’t have had an array of things to write about! That is excellent, a bit of sentimentality is always good, that is very lovely, yes do pass it on and see what he thinks! And if he has anything to comment on I would be happy to receive them!
Thank you for your time reading, sharing and commenting!
Hello there! This post could not be written any better!
Reading this post reminds me of my good old room
mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward
this article to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read.
Thank you for sharing!
Hi Katie. Thank you so much for the comment. I in fact have learnt bits about child psychology through developmental, social and cognitive Psychology. I would like to focus here on pro-social behaviour. Studies reveal that children are impressionable at a very early age. ‘The Scientific study of social behaviour’ by Michael Argyle indicates that children imitate behaviour of others, however the fascinating thing is when their behaviour is repeated. Often by repeating and imitated positive behaviour such as, lets say… recycling, this may be due to the behaviour being rewarded. This appropriate rewarding of positive behaviour is called positive reinforcement. Therefore I believe, parents should build up a good relationship with their child, and reward them with something as simple as a gold star on a behaviour chart only when their child reveals good behaviour such as recycling in this case. ‘Behaviour patterns children follow are closely related to early home impressions’ (cited in: Jensen, A, S. (1938). Psychology of Child behaviour. New York, Prentice-Hall, Inc.) The child would then recognise this and repeat it. By parents explaining to their children why it is good, positive behaviour it this educates the child and they will know why they are rewarded. This is fundamental as it has great applications. It could build up closer families due to communication and more pro-social behaviour in schools and at home the future. This is just a small bit of knowledge on such a wide topic with many influential elements. If you have any other questions, do not hesitate to ask or contact me as I know this is quite vague and only one small influential factor in the huge array of child psychology. I am always keen to help! I hope your group find this useful!
Take care Katie!
Hi Morgan,
In this report, you wrote about the impacts of the children being at a very impressionable age. As a physchology student, I was wondering if this was something you have covered and therefore have any scientific literature to back up this statement?
This would come in really handy for my group to add an academic reference.
Many thanks,
Katie
Have you heard about this artist who gives ‘make -unders’ to hypersexualised dolls? I just LOVE the idea and the results, and this video is an absolutely charming telling of Sonia Singh’s story! Take a look and smile.
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/thefeed/story/tree-change-dolls
Hi Alison, No I have not heard of the artist before until I looked her up just now. That is an amazing video, and the thought behind the dolls is definitely a mum thought, a thought that looks at the good in everything and finds the beauty in what is natural! It is such as brilliant idea! If I had very young siblings or children these would be the kind of dolls I would buy. It may even tempt me to try this out and to give them to one of my friends who childmines, as the children could play with the naturally charming dolls!
The greatness is not just in the re-using of old unwanted dolls who have brocken arms or no feet, however the message behind the ‘make-unders’ of the dolls can speak to many.
Children can grow up with a view of what it means to be beautiful, with casual clothing and natural features wearing minimalistic make up, compared to the hypersexualised image of heavily made up dolls with fake eyelashes. I hope toy companies see this and act upon it as there is a market out there!
I really did smile here, and I am so glad you have shared this. I too with share it will all of my friends!