Student Workshops

Building better habits for life

Our informal workshops are original, engaging and interactive. All have been exclusively designed by SusSEd Bus and are specifically tailored to your requirements, using a range of resources. All sessions stimulate discussion of contemporary issues and empower students to think critically.

Workshops raise awareness and encourage pupils to lead more sustainable lifestyles; they are designed to give students a sense of personal responsibility in their consumer habits. Our workshops link sustainability issues together, enabling students to understand the impact their everyday actions have.

A workshop will typically contain an introduction to the subject, which will enable us to assess the current level of students’ knowledge. Often a short film-clip is shown to stimulate debate and understanding of the issues. The workshops are designed to be provocative and encourage students to think about how their actions impact on the lives of others around the world. Active participation by every member of the group is encouraged.

If the workshop is spread over more than one session, students are given some background research to do before they return. At the end of the workshop students receive a SusSEd Bus goody bag and complete a feedback questionnaire.

Previous students have responded positively to these sessions and their active participation has enabled them to contribute toward and develop school policies, thus increasing their sense of ownership with the school. We have had great feedback from our past workshops.

Whilst sustainability issues are covered by the curriculum through subjects such as PSHE, Geography, Science and Citizenship, our sessions help promote a depth to students’ understanding about these issues and how they relate directly to their chosen lifestyles. There is obviously crossover between many of the subjects, so workshops can be tailored to your preference. This can be focused on a single topic or a combination of issues.

Some of the issues we can look at in workshops:

• Climate Change - What is causing it, what the effects will be and what can we do to prevent it?
• Energy - Production and consumption and alternative sources.
• Water – Reduction of usage and waste, pollution of water sources.
• Transport – Current transport problems and solutions, including school travel.
  
  Checking the Labels:
• Waste – What is waste and how to minimise it?
• Fairtrade – What is it? What impact does it have?
• Food – How and where is it produced? How does it get to your plate? What is actually in it?
• Organic cotton – Why is cotton so important and why does organic matter?
• Pesticides – What are pesticides and why are they used? What are the environmental and health impacts?
• Chemicals in cosmetics and cleaning products - Why are chemicals used? What is the impact on people’s health?
• Uniforms – How are clothes made? Where does your uniform come from? Could you source it more sustainably?