Last weekend, our Artistic Director Brad McCormick took part in GroundEd, a two-day residential CPD event bringing together teachers, artists and environmental educators to explore regenerative education, sustainability and learning through nature.
Brad led a workshop introducing participants to Climate Change Catastrophe!, our theatre project for Key Stage 2 pupils, sharing creative activities that help children engage with climate change in practical, imaginative ways.
Here’s Brad’s reflection on the weekend:
I had a really lovely time doing a workshop on theatre and climate change at the GroundEd event last weekend. Myself and 10 passionate eco-educators convened in the lovely and shaded ‘secret garden’ at the event space and everyone was super enthusiastic and up for getting involved.
The main thrust of the session was introducing them to our show Climate Change Catastrophe! and the accompanying lessons and exercises they could do with their communities. Not only to bring the learning into people’s bodies but to show that you can have fun working on such a serious subject as the climate crisis.
We physicalised the greenhouse effect; designed heatwave-busting inventions for urban areas; and ran a basic model (a simple version of the real world) to show how our collective choices can have big consequences.
I had some great questions afterwards and am positive that people will be applying what we did in their own contexts. It was heartening to see people so passionate about eco education coming together.
Thanks to Meryl Batchelder and everyone at the Ministry of Eco Education for having me.
Find out more about Climate Change Catastrophe!
Climate Change Catastrophe! is our award-winning climate change project for Key Stage 2. Created with young people and researchers from Newcastle University, it combines filmed performances with free lesson plans and creative classroom activities to help children explore one of the biggest challenges of our time.
The films and resources are free to access all year round, making it easy for teachers and community groups to bring creative climate learning into the classroom.
Find out more about Climate Change Catastrophe! and access the free resources by clicking the link below.
