Let Creation Breathe

This year’s World AIMS theme is ‘Let Creation Breathe’ which looks into the environment we live in and the impact of our actions and behaviours on nature. There were a whole host of activities during the week which aimed to get the pupils thinking about their immediate environment and what they do to impact it.

On site, pupils could be seen investigating the school grounds for lichen which indicates the local air quality. Some types thrive in polluted areas where they can suck in the co2, whereas others only like to grow in clean air. Pupils also took a quiz to to assess their carbon footprint, made paper sculptures, and composed nature inspired music.

At the Cookery School, Mrs Taylor showed groups how to make an apple, orange and courgette cake to encourage them to cook delicious food with local, sustainable ingredients that are readily available in Cornwall. There were over 400 ingredient packs made up for the pupils to take home to make themselves to share with their families.

Elsewhere, groups headed off on trips around the county to learn more.

At the Eden Project, a charity that solely focuses on sustainability and education, the children were guided around the rainforest biome to discover just how reliant humans are on the rainforest’s resources and how they are exploited for people’s gain, leading to global warming. The children were shocked to find out the huge amounts of palm oil used in every day products that we take for granted, like toothpaste.

Along the coast path from Chapelporth to Perranporth, students could be seen walking the cliffs to take in the coastal surroundings around them and to appreciate what’s on our doorstep. It also served as a reminder how being in nature and fresh air can help calm us, especially if feeling stressed.

Finally, everyone in the school community made a pledge on how they’re going to play their part in every day life to protect our world. These ranged from not using single use plastics, recycling more, drinking tap water, eating locally sourced vegetables as well as planting them.