We have teamed up once again with Ahead Partnership, this time to host its Sustainable Snowfest – an exciting day of activities that teach young people how they can have a more sustainable Christmas.
Welcoming 14 students in Year 5 and 6 from Christ the King Catholic Primary School in Leeds, we held a number of interactive workshops which taught pupils how they can reduce the environmental impact of their celebrations, whilst maximising fun and festivity.
Sessions included how to make delicious festive food, whilst reducing waste, and how to wrap gifts with sustainability front of mind. They also learnt about how they can give back to their communities, at a time when some may need it most. Teaching transferable skills like problem-solving, speaking and listening, literacy and numeracy were also embedded throughout the day.
On the festive fun had, one student said: “I liked designing my own wrapping paper, and I learnt that if you scrunch it up, it means it can be recycled.”
Ahead Partnership supports the private sector to design and deliver social value projects to overcome inequality, promote opportunity and positively impact wider society.
Megan Lipp, Head of Development at Ahead Partnership, added: “Wellington Place has been an incredible base to teach young people about how they can have an enchanting Christmas, whilst doing good for the planet and people. The hints and tricks we shared with them are really simple to introduce and we’d encourage others to have a think about how they can reduce their environmental impact this year. Have a read of our top tips…”
Ahead Partnership’s top tips for a sustainable Christmas:
- Choose recyclable cards and cards made from recycled materials or try your hand at making your own cards using recycled paper.
- If you are asking for a gift, instead of an item, how about asking for an ‘experience gift’ like a go-carting voucher or cooking class?
- It may sound simple but remember to turn off your Christmas tree lights at night. It will cost less in electricity (win!) and be better for the planet.
- Try making your own advent calendar using envelopes for the days of the month. Most Advent calendars are 70% packaging and 30% chocolate, so making your own will mean less waste and more tasty treats!
- Don’t let food go to waste by being savvy with leftovers. Turkey curry? Bubble and squeak? Remember you can freeze things too!
- Create your own wrapping paper using recycled materials such as newspaper. You can use coloured pens to jazz it up and use string to tie it all together. It’ll look wonderful and feel even more special to those receiving it.
- Don’t buy games – make them! You can easily recreate classic festive party games yourself, like charades and Pictionary, with pen and paper.
- Sometimes a homemade gift means the most. From knitting a lovely scarf, to cooking up a batch of delicious gingerbread or mince pies, to a bespoke drawing or painting – get creative and have fun with it.
Find out more about Wellington Place’s sustainable approach here.
