By Mrs Whomsley (Head of Year 5)

As part of this term’s Unit of Inquiry Sharing the Planet, Year 5 invited local artist Philippa McDonald from Creative Days to run an Eco Art workshop with our pupils. To prepare for our workshop, we sorted and collected recycling from our homes then, at the workshop, we turned this recycling into creatures from the sea to link with the issue of plastic pollution in our oceans. Our work was inspired by artists including Ernst Haeckal and Barry Rosenthal.

This follows on from a term’s work reflecting on the choices we make and their impact on the environment. As part of this, we considered the environmental issues facing the world today and the causes of them. This led us to identify the many stakeholders involved in making the decisions impacting our world and what influences their choices. Following on from this, we considered the responsibility for our own actions, as well as those of others, and how we might take action to address these issues.

Makeda (5W) said: “You should always recycle and try to find a way to use your waste again. The workshop was really fun and I made a fish using a milk carton, some straws and some plastic bags that I cut into strips to make a tail.”

Daisy (5W) added “I think it was a great idea to reuse the plastic that would otherwise have gone in the bin. I made a jellyfish from a yoghurt pot, coloured plastic sheets, bottle lids and old rope.”

View photos from the creativity work here.