Climate change is a topic on everyone’s lips at the moment. That’s why the work that Healthy Planet are doing is so important! Every week, a team of UCL students have been going into primary schools around London and running interactive sessions on how to make the planet a healthier place to live.
When I met UCL volunteers Elena, Myurie and Sabrina, they were in their third and final week working with Year Six pupils in Stamford Hill. Their session brought together some of the key topics that they’d discussed with the children over the previous weeks, such as how to reduce energy usage and the importance of recycling. It was fascinating to see how well-informed and enthusiastic the pupils were, particularly as when I was in primary school (admittedly a long time ago now) topics such as vegetarianism were rarely talked about as ways of reducing the impacts of climate change. Some more familiar suggestions, such as having shorter showers and using public transport, were, however, still very much in the minds of the children.
What is so great about the work done by Healthy Planet is that it provides children with a fun way of dealing with these otherwise very serious issues. Although the volunteers came equipped with an informative and colourful Powerpoint presentation, the majority of the session was dedicated to working with the pupils on storyboards and performances. The children got particularly imaginative when it came to acting out scenes in response to a climate change-related issues, with one group even writing and performing a rap about the benefits of a plant-based diet!
After joining pupils in an enthusiastic round of applause for the volunteers’ hard work, I left the session feeling hopeful that the planet will one day be in safe hands.
Written by Josephine Mizen - UCL Photojournalist.
You can find out more about Healthy Planet, or browse other Student-Led Projects on our Directory. Or, take a look at similar roles related to sustainability and the environment.