Learning about Sustainability  

Environmental Jargon explained

Educational activities in Sustainability

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Beachwatch 2008

Beachwatch is the Marine Conservation Society's (MCS) national beach clean-up and litter survey, which takes place annually over the third weekend in September.  The data recorded is submitted to the MCS which is collated and analysed to identify the quantities and sources of marine and beach litter, which helps them effectively campaign against the sources of litter.

This year, 45 volunteers helped to collect and record the beach litter at Hendon Beach.  The volunteers collected a total of 1815 pieces of litter.  The 5 most common litter items recorded on the day were broken glass, plastic pieces, pieces of paper, drink cans and plastic bags. 

The most unusual items found included a burnt sofa and a broken toilet!

Many thanks to all the volunteers that helped on the day!

For more information, please contact the Sustainability Team on 0191 561 1535 or email sustainability@sunderland.gov.uk
 

Environment Week 2008

In keeping with the theme for this year's World Environment Day, Environment Week provided an opportunity for local schools to get involved with activities to get them thinking about  how trees and woodlands play a role in preserving the quality of our local and global environment and how they help to mitigate climate change.

This year's activities included;

• A visit by Broadway Junior School to Durham Wildlife Trust's Rainton Meadows Nature Reserve
• A creative writer visited Blackfell Primary School, where they learnt, through words how to empathise with trees
• Town End Primary School learnt an ancient woodland skill - willow weaving and pupils from the same school also visited Barmston Pond for fun tree-based activities such as tree identification and tree theatre
• Castletown Primary School and Highfield Primary School both took part in tree planting and woodland activities with the help from the Great North Forest!

Environment Week 2007

To celebrate World Environment Day 2007, Sunderland's week long programme of events during Sunderland's Environment Week focused on climate change.

The week started with a visit to Roker Harbour by sand and ice sculptors who delivered art based workshops that demonstrated climate change in action!  A polar bear was sculpted out of ice, which melted the following day, symbolising the threat of our favourite Arctic mammal and the risk of melting ice caps as a result of increasing global temperatures.

Sea animals were sculpted in the sand by local young people, raising awareness of the risk to sea animals from changes in the oceans temperatures.  Each young person had the opportunity to enter their sea animal into a competition.  Entries included stingrays, octopuses, electric eels, starfish and turtles.  Ben McQuale (aged 10) won first prize of a family voucher to the Marine Activities Centre with his Octopus named Al!

An Environmental Cinema was held to show environment related films including Waterworld, Happy Feet and An Inconvenient Truth.

Sunderland was also home to the Climate Dome during Environment Week.  The eye catching inflatable dome aimed raise awareness of climate change and encourages visitors to make a pledge to reduce their CO2 emissions, such as turning their TV off properly or by fitting energy saving light bulbs.  Councillors Joe Lawson and Jim Blackburn visited the Climate Dome and made their pledges to reduce their carbon emissions!

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Environmental Jargon explained

We hear a lot about the environment in the media, and even more about all the environmental problems that our world is facing. But when newsreaders or politicians talk about environmental problems, they often use a lot of different – and confusing – jargon.

This sections aims to explain some of the most common environmental jargon that you’ll hear or read on radio, TV and in the newspaper. Because unless we understand what these environmental problems are, we can’t start to fix them!

Polluting the skies        Global Warming talk        Energy jargon        The Natural World        Doing your bit This information is also available on a leaflet. If you would like copies for educational or community events, please contact the sustainability team.

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Education Activities in Sustainability

The sustainability team runs a range of educational events and activities, to help residents, schools and organisations learn about how they can become more sustainable. Our main activities are listed below, but if you have any other ideas or requests, please get in touch and we’ll help where we can.

• Eco-schools – in partnership with Groundwork East Durham, the Eco-schools project aims to get 19 schools in Sunderland onto the Eco-schools programme, taking 14 to silver, and 5 to green flag status, by 2010.
• Community support – we can advise and support community groups to deliver training, events and projects in the most sustainable way for both Sunderland, and the planet. 

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