On the 21st of November, four members from ARUP visited Chigwell School to deliver a workshop to the Sustainability Ambassadors of Chigwell School. ARUP is a “global collective of designers, consultants and experts dedicated to sustainable development”, founded in 1946 (ARUP website). Chigwell School has teamed up with ARUP, with the aim of becoming a more eco-friendly site in time for their 400th anniversary in 2029. In this workshop, ARUP worked with students from ages four to eighteen, as well as staff. They are known for providing aid with “technical solutions that meet…specific needs in primary, secondary and higher education” (ARUP website). This workshop empowered students to feel innovated, allowing then to culminate their ideas on how to improve their 100-acre site. 

Sessions ran throughout the day, for both staff and pupils. Participants were asked to write down sustainability ideas on to Post-it notes to then stick onto a map of the school. This gave a visual representation, of key issues faced by pupils in different parts of the school. This also provided the ability to see trends throughout the school, correlating to the various age groups. The map was annotated, and ideas were then added by the next group. This sparked new ideas, as well as allowing students to provide solutions to previous issues addressed, “I found that seeing the prep school’s idea made me think of new ideas of how we can make school a greener place” -Larissa, year 12 pupil. By the end of the workshop, the maps were filled with not only ideas but solutions too.

To make these sessions interactive the youngest children used playdough, colouring pencils, and pens to express their thoughts and ideas. Additionally, participants were given an A3 sheet, granting them the opportunity to focus on a single idea. This resembled a design sheet, enabling students to delve deeper into their ideas. This widened pupils’ ability to be creative, as well as their problem-solving skills, “the exercise was mentally stretching, it made me really think about how to fix problems in school” -Rayaan, year 12 pupil. The ‘design sheet’ allowed the exploration of one idea, providing a closer focus and clearer presentation. This permitted students to pick what they thought was the most important idea, narrowing it down to enable the school to decide which ideas can be implemented. 

After the session the team from ARUP wrote down all the student's ideas to feedback to the teachers and heads of the school. This workshop was an educational and interactive experience, allowing students to be informed on what ARUP is and how they are going to help the school achieve their goal of being a greener and cleaner school.