Up to 50 schools and 600 pupils are participating in the Children’s University ‘Project in a Box: Think Climate’, which delivers a range of climate and sustainability-focused activities to engage children and young people in thinking about sustainability and how climate change affects our day to day lives.
The project is being delivered as part of the South Yorkshire Children’s University which is jointly funded by Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Sheffield.
The boxes include different climate-themed activities and resources, enabling school staff to deliver eight extra-curricular sessions to their pupils. Packed into their own reusable boxes, the sessions each contain fun, learning activities such as growing green roof tiles, building and racing reusable land yachts and designing a low-carbon pizza.
The Think Climate resources also include take-home tips for pupils to share with their families, to encourage them to continue with their own climate initiatives at home.
We can’t wait to get started
The project was launched in schools this week with a training session for staff from each participating school, to enable them to deliver engaging activities to their pupils and in ways which will maximise their impact.
Using the Children’s University Project in a Box model, Think Climate is being led by Lee Jowett, Climate Change and Sustainability Fellow, Joelle Halliday, Senior Research Fellow, both in the University’s Institute of Education, and Becky Musonda from the University’s Place and Civic Engagement Team. South Yorkshire Children’s University Managers, Helen Oades and Katie Hamshaw complete the project team, ensuring the outcomes are delivered to CU schools from right across the region.
Lee said: “As a university focused on climate action, we have taken a whole-university approach to co-designing a resource which will reach more than 600 school pupils in the first year.
“In a time when climate action is more urgent than ever, schools are seeking support to help the next generation understand and address the impacts of climate change. Our educational box supports school staff in achieving this in an empowering and meaningful way, to educate the next generation and is solution focussed which from our research is important.
“From the sessions, we hope that both the pupils and school staff take away the knowledge and inspiration gained to implement their own climate sessions and initiatives within their school. This should ensure an increased focus and greater future impact. “
The Project in a Box model was developed by Sheffield Children’s University and has been running in the city for over ten years, and the project expanded across South Yorkshire for the first time in 2023. The model of providing sustainable resources as well as confidence-building training and support for school staff has proven hugely successful in helping children to learn about a number of important topics in an empowering and engaging way.
“We can’t wait to get started,” commented a Higher-Level Teaching Assistant from a Sheffield school. “I’m going to have huge waiting lists full of children who’ll want to take part. These activities make climate change really relevant and accessible to children. They’ll be able to see how they can make a difference in their own way.”
The initiative also ties in with the University’s own Climate Action Strategy, which focuses on commitments to investing in new and existing initiatives that aim to make a positive contribution to tackling the climate emergency and embedding climate awareness in everything the University does.
The Department for Education (DfE) has launched its climate and sustainability strategy, and schools are being encouraged to have climate action plans and climate leaders embedded by the end of 2025. The Think Climate Project in a Box will help the schools involved to achieve that.
Participating schools will be invited to bring pupils along to an event which will be held on campus next June. Designed to celebrate their learning and achievements as well as providing opportunities for them to participate in fun, learning activities, the celebration event will hopefully further inspire them to be climate champions of the future.
Find out more information about South Yorkshire Children's University.
