Year 5 Annual Eco Conference 2023

Year 5 alongside our Environmentalist-in-Residence Mr Williams, hosted their annual Eco Conference this week, welcoming a number of fellow Year 5 students from local schools, to discuss and contribute to this years’ environmental theme “Action Speaks Louder”.

Mr Williams provided an impassioned opening to the conference with a speech about how our actions today will impact on all our futures. He quickly opened the floor to the audience of students to have an open discussion on sustainability, the climate crisis and what respecting our planet really involves.

A roving mic (provided by Year 12 members of HOPE) gave students from each school the opportunity to offer their opinions as to why the Rainforests are so important, how and why we waste food, where the impact of single-use plastic is felt the most, how pollution is accelerating the climate crisis and importantly how can we change attitudes to respect our planet. Empowering the students to contribute their ideas was a real highlight of the conference, with Mr Williams even asking some to come up on stage and present their ideas to the audience.

A series of workshops followed, where small groups looked at impactful action for change, wrote poems and stories and enjoyed crafting sessions to honour the mighty Bee! They even had time to enjoy a walk in Pipers glorious grounds following the Wellbeing trail to the Wildflower Meadow to immerse themselves in the beauty of nature that is all around us.

The conference concluded with an open-mic session where students could share the stories and poems they had written in a plea to each and every one of us to take action against waste and pollution. A brilliantly creative rap even featured!

The conference was an incredible opportunity for Pipers students and students from the local community to unite in their concern for the future of their planet and to work together for change. Thank you so much to Little Kingshill Combined School, Widmer End Combined School, Holmer Green Junior School, Hughenden Primary and Stokenchurch Primary for joining us and sharing your wonderful knowledge and ideas.