My name is Grace and I am a second-year Education Studies student at Liverpool Hope University. My ultimate goal from my degree is to become a Primary school teacher. I was an intern for the Ten Tonne Challenge for around 6 weeks. The aim of the challenge is to educate about the effects of waste disposal, particularly looking at the issues with modern day fast fashion and textile waste. The project works with the Liverpool waste authority and local schools around the Merseyside area to help to make a difference to these issues. My role with the Ten Tonne Challenge was to come up with ideas and make exciting resources that could be used in lessons to teach about the challenge. I chose to take a creative spin on the resources that I developed, as I really enjoy making and designing textiles. I was also lucky enough to be able to help with some zoom assemblies with local schools and interact with the students when discussing the key issues of the project.
The project really enhanced my skills of working with school staff, interacting with students and also making resources. As my end goal from my degree is Primary School teaching, the Ten Tonne Challenge helped me to prepare for my career, not only though active discussions with the students but also the generating of resources, as this is something I will have to do on a daily basis. The Ten Tonne Challenge also helped me to work in a team, with Jacquie and Liz giving me activities to make but also allowing me to take my own spin on them.
I think that the Ten Tonne Challenge is an amazing project, not only with the work that it does within the community, but also the education that it is giving local children about the effects of climate change. The challenge teaches the children the key facts and figures of climate change from the fashion industry, and demonstrates to them how they themselves can help to make a difference. I particularly learnt a lot from the project about the damage of the textile journey on the environment and also the effects of fast fashion, which really made me evaluate my choices as a regular online shopper. The project is vital in educating the next generation about these pressing issues, but it is done in a fun and very engaging way, making children want to learn.
The Ten Tonne Challenge helped me to understand particular parts of my course. I study Education, so I have studied the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on my course, but I enjoyed seeing how projects like the Ten Tonne Challenge work towards them. I also have done a lot of work on citizenship within my course, and I think that the Ten Tonne Challenge links to it, as the project is helping the younger generation to be active citizens within their community and allows them to make a real difference. From my experience as an intern, it has shown me alternative opportunities that I could get involved with in my career, not only through teaching but also helping to make change and how local charities work to make a difference in pressing issues such as climate change.
Find out more about the Ten Tonne Challenge