Sevenoaks School’s Green Week aimed to inspire the whole school community to adopt more sustainable ways of life, by inviting students to participate in activities, lectures and workshops to raise awareness of local and global issues of sustainability.
Each day had a theme accompanied by practical challenge for our younger students and primary partner school students. The themes were Environmental Action, Energy, Sustainable Fashion, Waste and Food.
Monday saw all students in Years 7-10, as well as some from local primary schools, engage in an AimHi workshop, led by Paul Turner, a former member of the Geography department. AimHi Earth is an education-to-action organisation aiming to activate, inspire and empower changemakers across the world. This was followed up with a presentation from Ecotricity to our primary partnership schools.
Other speakers during the week included Joseph Jacobelli, exploring Asia’s Energy Transition; Ian Head (local Green Party representative) exploring the Gaia hypothesis as a means to understand the climate crisis; Jenny Henman from Plant Your Future; Tim Golds from Nomad Tanzania Ecotourism; a seminar with Cllr Peter Fleming on Sevenoaks town’s path for NetZero 2030; and a session with Fatou Jeng, Founder of Clean Earth Gambia, who will be joining students in our weekly Kent Social Leadership Programme.
Students participated in workshops on creating environmentally friendly soap and laundry products, and a waste-themed art competition. They organised a number of fundraising activities, including a green-themed home clothes day in support of Plant Your Future, and a Sixth Form film and pizza night in support of EduSpots’ sustainability education camps for students in rural Ghana.
The week aims to throw a spotlight on environmental sustainability, and supports environmental education which is embedded in our curriculum. All students can choose to take a leadership role in this area through joining the Eco Committee.
