I’m on playground duty when I find myself noticing a distinctive shift in the hot conversational topics of choice among the pupils. Normally, it’s Fortnite or Ariana Grande, but my ears prick up when I hear my Year 5 pupils discussing climate change and the impact of plastics in our oceans.
It’s pleasing to hear them debate the issue of recycling and sustainability, and it gets me thinking: how can I best capitalise on this moment of genuine interest and continue the conversation in the classroom?
Of course, sustainability is nothing new to the classroom. Teachers, as per the curriculum, have been ensuring for years that students understand what being sustainable means.
Most schools uphold eco-friendly values and attitudes, supporting the notion of “smaller everyday consciousness” to drive positive behavioural change. But now the pupils were bringing the topic to me. So what could I do about it?
I wanted to inspire my students to think seriously about their impact on the environment and I recalled hearing about schools holding “trashion shows” - fashion made out of “trash” - and thought we could use this to explore the issue creatively.
It would also be a fun way to reintroduce the class to ideas surrounding recycling, upcycling and wearable art, and to discuss the growing media coverage of the unethical practices of “fast fashion”.
Creativity and climate change
To get the pupils thinking differently about what art and fashion could be, I introduced the work of artist Andy Goldsworthy, specifically his work where nature has become the art. We then experimented with this ourselves by working with natural materials found outside our classroom door - hay, dirt, leaves and gravel. This introduction allowed pupils to think about using unconventional materials to create art, and how art wasn’t always something you could hang in a frame. Resources, such as this plastic waste art activity from schools programme The Pod, are another good way to get children to consider what can be used to make art with an environmental focus.
I followed this up with The Bristol Whales by Cod Steaks. This is a stunning example of installation art that used over 70,000 water bottles in its creation; as we looked at it we were able to talk about how what it was made from connected to its subject, and how it stood as a reminder of how harmful plastic can be to our environment.
From here we looked at the fashion industry and its sustainability problems. When I produced some shocking statistics (such as that fast fashion is second only to oil as the world’s largest polluter or is responsible for 20 per cent of the world’s waste), the pupils looked at their clothes in a slightly different way.
Then we moved on to the concept of the trashion show itself and how it could focus on addressing these sorts of problems, including looking at Daisy May Cooper’s Bafta red carpet dress made from bin bags and rubbish and her reasons behind her choice of attire.
From here the students gathered unwanted items from home - aluminium cans, lampshades, umbrellas and much more - and then began designing their outfits, thinking carefully about which items would be best to use to create fantastic outfits to show off to the school.
Catwalks and teamwork
Then came the show itself. We rearranged the classroom into a “catwalk”, and the students displayed their outfits - donning outfits themselves, or roping in staff as models - all set to a soundtrack of relevant songs chosen by them.
Afterwards came the evaluations. We completed some short writing tasks, focusing on the clothes’ appearance and durability, and pulled together all the previous work we’d done on what is art and the impact the fashion industry has on the environment.
At the end of the unit I looked back and could say that I saw a real boost in a range of skills, from problem-solving, teamwork and resourcefulness to resilience, communication and negotiation - all key areas that the curriculum requires children are taught - achieved through a project that, essentially, was about playing with rubbish and inspired by a playground conversation.
What surprised and impressed me most, though, was how students expressed care and concern about the environment but with a determination that this didn’t mean having to let go of “style” or expressing themselves.
This may not mean students start wearing bin bag dresses to school or in town centres, but it is certainly comforting that children seem ready and willing to adapt their consumption habits for the good of the planet.
Niall Robinson-Fitzsimmons is a primary school teacher in Essex
