Archive for July, 2010

Exercise 2 of the Gombe 50 Activity Set

We began our endeavour to spread the word of Roots & Shoots by conducting a region wide social experiment in order to highlight to the agents some of the fundamental difficulties faced by Jane Goodall when she started campaigning on behalf of the Chimpanzees of the Gombe National Park.

In order to do this we constructed a Scarecrow and entered him in a competition whereby people had to vote on line for their favourite entry. Most of those displayed were from schools across the Highlands and we wanted to see if people would vote for our entry without any information being given about the group.

The results were as we suspected and proved in a …

Read all of Highland & Island Team Spread the Word of Roots & Shoots!!

Highland & Island Facilitator Group
Parts 4-7
One of the biggest difficulties facing us, as has been pointed out before, is the difficulty that some of our agents have in putting themselves in the shoes of others. We therefore decided to attempt to recreate an atmosphere whereby they were the person paddling up the river to Gombe, pitching tent and experiencing all that Jane Goodall faced. We knew from past experience that if we did this in the form of a play/re-enactment of the event, they would be better able to participate, and thus it proved to be.

We turned an old packing case into a raft and having identified all that we would needed, set off up Lake Tanganyika in search of …

Read all of Jane’s Lost Diaries: Part 2 – Mission Update!!

As Ringwood’s work on the One World theme continued throughout the Summer term, we tried to meet the Roots & Shoots challenge of spreading the word of Roots & Shoots (Exercise 2 of J’s Lost Notebook). The many school and community projects that we have been involved with and that are described below, have allowed us to share the ideas of Roots & Shoots.

We agree with the Roots & Shoots principle that is so beautifully demonstrated with the Greater Gombe ecosystem, that making small scale local changes can make a big difference over time. Our first application of this principle relates to Fairtrade. Our Chronobots have worked throughout the year to raise the profile of Fairtrade in the community. To …

Read all of One World: People in a Global Village – Mission Update!!

Highland & Island Facilitator Group
Parts 1-3
Part 1 – People, Animals and the Environment at Home
We were very excited at the prospect of undertaking this project as earlier research had already alerted us to the fact that there were an amazing amount of similarities between our environment and that of the Gombe National Reserve.

Obviously there are considerable differences with regards to the temperature, and the type of vegetation and animal species within each environment, but in spite of this there was an awful lot that the children recognised as familiar.

We live within sight of the hills surrounding Loch Ness which at over 20 miles long, a mile wide and 700 feet deep is one of …

Read all of Jane’s Lost Diaries: Part 1 – Mission Update!!

Tonnau Primary in Neath joined Roots & Shoots: Mission Possible today.

You can see where Tonnau Primary is on a map and read about their local environment here.

We held our World Environment Day on Tuesday 8 June 2010.  We had over 350 visitors from primary and secondary schools as well as members of the public.  We had a marquee where exhibitors displayed their environmental projects and activities.  In the afternoon, working with ICC (International Climate Challenge) we had a Young People’s Action on Climate Change workshop specifically for secondary schools, to explore:

The global dimensions to climate change, meeting the sustainable school’s doorway and making connections between students’ work in the UK, India and Kenya.
How student-led action can really make a difference, with an opportunity to get involved in ICC’s Inspiring Young Change-maker initiative.

…

Read all of Long Eaton School’s World Environment Day – Mission Update!!

Turners Hill School have recently completed a project that they called the “Great Big Energy Saving Project”.

The idea of the project was to consolidate and add to what they had already learnt. The children made a papier-mache thermometer with a world at the base to use as a measure, the target being to be completely carbon neutral.

The children looked at the school and talked about what we already do to help the environment. They surveyed all the school children to see which of our projects they thought made the biggest difference to the environment. By doing this it really brought home to our children how much we do. The list included:
Wind turbines
Solar Panels
Composting
Chickens
Recycling
Planting our own wood
Bugs Hotel Walking …

Read all of The Great Big Energy Challenge

West Derby School in Liverpool, Merseyside joined Roots & Shoots: Mission Possible today.

You can see where West Derby School is on a map and read about their local environment here.

Wrenn School in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire joined Roots & Shoots: Mission Possible today.

You can see where Wrenn School is on a map and read about their local environment here.

St Clements College in Skegness, Lincolnshire joined Roots & Shoots: Mission Possible today.

You can see where St Clements College is on a map and read about their local environment here.