Norfolk County Council’s award winning Artists for Climate Change programme is aimed at teaching children and young people about climate change and to encourage carbon reduction through writing, sculpture, drawing, film and other creative approaches.
I was one of 20 artists trained by Norfolk County Council to develop programmes around energy-saving, reducing waste and understanding of the impact of climate change. These were then piloted in 18 Norfolk schools, both primary and secondary.
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A group mosaic of their world – but the sea has risen!
Making changes to their world in order to prevent sea level rise
I have been looking at ways of exploring issues such as sea level rise through the making of large scale temporary mosaics made from shells, pinecones and pebbles. I have also devised a workshop exploring the ‘butterfly effect’ in which small changes (such as the wing beat of a butterfly) can lead to big changes thousands of miles away (such as a hurricane). The end result is the making of recycled butterfly mobiles. Every time a child carries out one small action that might make a big change for the better they get to pull the cord and make the butterfly flap its wings
More details of the Butterfly workshop can be found in a special directory, which has been distributed to the county’s 437 schools, as well as museums, libraries and cultural and environmental organisations. There is a link at the top of this page.
The project has been funded by CUE East , UEA’s Beacon for Public Engagement; ANSWER, a European project developing new paths to energy efficiency and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Interreg IVB North Sea Region Programme. It has also been supported by the UEA, Norfolk Education and Action for Development (NEAD), Zero Carbon Britain, the Energy Saving Trust and Norwich University College of the Arts..
The project is also the first initiative of its kind in the eastern region to be awarded a London 2012 Inspire Mark for Sustainability for its links to the themes and values of the Olympic Games.
Liz McGowan 