Back in July, 120 Year 10 students from across Essex joined the Make Happen Team at ARU, Chelmsford Campus, for a full day careers workshops focusing on sustainability and green industries. We were pleased to welcome students and staff from:
De La Salle
Colchester Academy
Tabor Academy
New Rickstones Academy
Drapers Academy
We’re excited to share some highlights of Sustainable Futures Day in the video and overview below.
Background
With the UN deadlines for climate action rapidly approaching, these green industries and sustainability sectors are becoming increasingly vital to the continuation of our way of life. Within Make Happen, we were keen to further develop our Sustainable Futures Day, following the success of the event in 2022, which saw 83 students from 3 Essex secondary schools attending.
Aims
The aim of the day was to improve awareness of, and aspiration to, the range of careers that contribute to tackling the issues of climate and environmental change and creating a more sustainable future.
We wanted to present students with a broad definition of sustainability, based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), demonstrating that what is needed to create sustainable society is not just solar panels, recycling, and biodiversity, but also equality, justice, education, and healthcare.
We hoped that students would come away with the impression that sustainable careers can exist in any industry and that green skills are relevant to any job.
Programme
Students experienced a university lecture theatre at the start of the day, with a whole group session designed to encourage students to think about what sustainability means. They were introduced to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, with a short video, followed by small group discussions to consider their 5 most important among the UN’s 17 goals.
Students then attended breakout sessions led by guest academics and industry professionals. Our unique programme showcased diverse careers including:
Sustainable farming (LEAF Education) – Earth sciences (UCL Geobus) – Current research into biodiversity (University of Essex) – Sustainable theatre costume design (University Centre South Essex) – Green infrastructure (Essex County Council) – Community engagement (University of Essex, Sustainability Team) – Sustainable design (The Design Museum) – Tree planting (Essex County Council).
A workbook was produced to accompany the programme, relating each session to relevant UN SDGs and career options. Students completed the workbook throughout the day to help them reflect on the activities and note anything they learned or skills they developed. All students showed excellent engagement and received a certificate in recognition of their participation.
Feedback
From the feedback received it’s very encouraging that the majority of students felt that they came away with a greater understanding of careers in sustainability and green industries, with more than 80% agreeing that “attending this day has given [them] a better understanding of green careers that [they] could progress on to” and a further 79% agreeing that the day “helped [them] to find out about the different courses that [they] can do in the future”. You can read the full data report here:
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Thank you to all our partners, speakers, and schools who made the day such a success.