The 13th NW Eco-Schools Sustainability Conference
On Thursday 23 June 2022, the 13th NW Eco-Schools Sustainability Conference was held at Blackburn Rovers Football Club at Ewood Park, Blackburn, with support from Blackburn Rovers Community Trust.
The conference gave Key Stage 2 pupils and high school students a day of hands-on learning beyond the classroom, linked to education for sustainable development. As in previous years, there was input from members of the Forum, students from St Christopher's CE High School's Eco-Group, and the Blackburn Rovers Community Trust team. In 2022 the conference was still called the NW Eco-Schools Sustainability Conference; from 2023 it became the Sustainability Learning Conference.
Thirty-four primary schools sent around 250 Key Stage 2 children, who were allocated between workshops, presentations and marketplace learning activities. In all, 132 students from six high schools entered team challenges or acted as guides for the younger groups. Schools travelled from 15 places, from Lancaster and Morecambe to Rochdale and Wigan.
The aim was to involve environmental groups in learning activities on topics such as biodiversity, waste, water, energy, litter, transport and global citizenship, and the marketplace attracted new groups as well as organisations that had attended over many years. School staff had their own CPD sessions on the curriculum and on leading sustainability in school.
The conference was run as a not-for-profit event and depended on sponsorship. The Forum thanks everyone who supported it. For news of future conferences, visit the Sustainability Learning CIC website: https://sustainabilitylearning.co.uk