We were contacted by Forest Green Rovers Community, the charitable arm of Forest Green Rovers football club, to deliver an afternoon of summer school workshops.
FGR Community works with schools, community organisations, and sports clubs in Gloucestershire and the surrounding area, using football to educate, motivate and inspire. They run a football summer school that combines physical activities, with workshops on the environment. When they asked us to collaborate for another event we were delighted to be involved.
We started our workshops with a quick talk about what plastic pollution is, why it matters, and how we can work together to reduce plastic waste.
Together we then worked on our decomposition timeline. The students had to work out how long they thought household waste items take to break down. They were shocked at just how long things took to breakdown when you consider how these items are only used for a short time. A water bottle for example, may only be used for an hour before being discarded, where it then can last for 450 years.
After our timeline activity, students could then pick from our two football inspired sustainability worksheets. They could either design a football made from recycled materials, or design a football boot to raise awareness for a eco-mission of their choosing. Some chose anti-litter messages, some focused on climate change, while others focused on raising awareness about ocean plastic.
We were impressed by the ingenuity of the designs the students came up with. From reusing plastic bags, recycling leather, to biodegradable materials, the footballs were designed from all manner of recycled and sustainable materials.
The football boot designs were equally good. We were particularly impressed by these designs focusing on sustainable materials such as bamboo and aluminium. Once the worksheets were complete, the children then presented their idea to the group, explaining their choices and designs. The winning design was a football boot that showed how horrible our earth will become if we do not work together to cut down on plastic and climate change.
Thank you so much to FGR Community for allowing us to come and talk about single-use plastics and ocean pollution. Thank you also to the students who listened to our talk and participated in our workshops. It was great fun and the enthusiasm was infectious!
If you would like to work with us, please contact hello@lifesabeach.org to learn more.
