We’re supporting Climate Change All Change as they show young Londoners that they have the power to help transcend the climate crisis through design and creativity.
Instead of just talking about the climate crisis, Climate Change All Change (CCAC) gets year 5 kids in the classroom to actually conceive design proposals themselves. They bring professional designers and architects into primary schools to show children that their ideas matter.
By mixing environmental science with hands-on design, they help students see that a career in the full range of design activities, including architecture, engineering, ecology, fashion, and textiles is something they can actually achieve.
It’s not surprising that the climate crisis is a scary topic for children. But a recent survey of over 8,000 young people showed the while many feel anxious about the planet, they are also optimistic that things can change.
CCAC co-founder David Lloyd Jones told us that, nine and ten-year-olds are at the cusp of understanding the world they will inherit, along with its challenges. Yet, because they haven't yet ‘arrived at the examination treadmill…their imaginations are free and uninhibited. They are at an age ideally suited to taking on the challenges of global warming.’
We’ve awarded £38,000 over two years to help CCAC reach more schools across London. Recently, we’ve been following their project at Laycock School in Islington, where year 5 pupils have been working with design engineer, Luisa Charles.
The project was called ‘Robots for Climate Change’. Over five weeks, the classroom turned into a bit of a workshop. Luisa and the teachers showed the students how to build ‘companion robots’, which were machines that could help people look after the environment.
The students really got stuck into the engineering side of things. They used BBC micro-controllers and learnt how to code so their robots could work. They built machines with sensors that could measure wind, light or CO2 levels in the air.
By week three, the teams were coming up with their own scenarios. One group designed a fire fighting robot that used light sensors to see flames and start putting them out. They used a mix of tech and everyday items like cardboard and recycled plastic to build their models.
Finally, Luisa created a digital prototype based on the children’s best ideas, which was shown to parents at the final reveal event. A wonderful opportunity to celebrate what the young people had done and the skills they had learnt during this process.
The school told us that these workshops did a lot more than just teach science. Jenny Lewis, the Interim Executive Headteacher, said that seeing their own ideas reflected in a real robot gave the year 5s a huge boost in confidence.
Frederick Hall, the Interim Headteacher, agreed, saying that the project gave the pupils (and the staff) a chance to learn things that they just wouldn’t get from the normal school curriculum.
By the end of the project, the students had learnt lots of technical skills like coding and building. But just as importantly, they strengthened their ability to work in a team, to present ideas and to solve problems when things didn’t work the first time.
Children would start to talk about how they would make a change in what they bought, what they ate, and how they used resources.
Jenny Lewis
Interim Executive Headteacher
Perhaps most importantly, it’s changed how some of the children see their own career paths. Luisa noted that several students told her that the project had made them realise they want to be designers when they grow up.
This is exactly why we support projects like this. To give young Londoners the chance to see a future for themselves in industries they might never have considered before.
We’re so glad to see the work that CCAC are doing, especially while the climate crisis becomes increasingly apparent. We can’t wait to see them reach more schools and impact more young people.
Want to apply for a Portal Trust grant? Read our full criteria on our Funding page.