Eden Sustainability Sussed Workshop trip for Mevagissey Primary School Yr 5 & 6

Mevagissey Climate Action Group, part of Mevagissey Parish Council, have fully funded this trip for all year 5 & 6 pupils at Mevagissey Primary School.

The facilitated workshop begins with the pupils writing a shopping list and selecting six products to build the ‘best’ packed lunch. They then earn the right to ‘buy’ the products from the shop. Using maps and coordinates they go on a journey across the Eden site to discover the sustainability related stories behind the foods they have selected.

Upon arrival back in the classroom the pupils have a conversation about what ‘best’ might mean and complete hands on activities which lead them to review the contents of their lunch box with respect to issues about sustainability. Finally, they are given the option of rebuilding the contents of their lunchbox in light of what they have learnt.

How does this workshop support the curriculum?

This workshop enables pupils to:

• understand that the food we eat connects us to people and environments all over the world and that we can make a difference through the decisions we make as consumers
• consider what makes the best packed lunch in terms of issues about sustainability – health, waste, packaging, food miles, farming practices and Fairtrade
• justify their opinions and make decisions about the relative importance of different pieces of information
• use map work skills and coordinates to plan and find their route

Eden have designed the workshop to help teachers cover the following subject areas:

• In Geography, pupils should be taught to locate countries across the globe using maps and understand geographical similarities and differences between these places in terms of their physical and human geography. They should consider trade links between these places and the UK, economic activity, land use and environmental impacts. Pupils should learn about the impact of diet on health.
• This workshop is accredited under the British Science Association’s CREST Awards scheme. Completion of the workshop enables the student to gain one sticker towards the SuperStar Award.