The end of November was a busy time for the Woodcraft Folk Green Influencers in Leeds and Bradford. The last week in November was #iwill week so lots of brilliant activities took place all around the country.
#Iwill are one of the sponsors of the Green Influencer project, they are youth social action movement funded by the national lottery who work with organisations all over the country supporting young people ages 10-20.
Leeds
The Coop Academy Nightingale Green Influencers from Leeds were lucky enough to learn about and eat some microgreens at Dawndew near Blackpool. Microgreens are tiny green salad leaves mostly like cress and pea shoots, the group also visited their Willy Wonka style invention room where fun and mysterious things grow in bright pink light including garlic chives! Mm delicious. Microgreens are an efficient, sustainable, healthy, British food and it was great for the Green Influencers to learn more about them. They use hydroponics and grow peas on upcycled carpet instead of in soil because it is better for the environment and their business!! And they gave the group cress and peas to grow in paper at home! Brilliant!
The group, joined by Elaine Brown, Woodcraft Folk’s Green Mentor then went to the seaside in Blackpool to do a litter pick to prevent harmful plastics affecting sea life. It was so stormy the litter pick had to take place on the path high above the waves! The Green Influencers also looked at the electric cars, talked about climate change and ways to have less cars on the road.
The Green Influencers said “going to the sea was the best! It was so windy!” “Everything was my favourite part!” “All the eating!” “That leaf was really spicy!”
The day out was also partly funded by Keelings who supply fruit and vegetables to the Co-op.
Thanks everyone for making it happen.
Bradford
In Bradford the Coop Academy Grange Green Influencers have been making and throwing wild seed bombs at Scaley Hills to help improve biodiversity, give the bees somewhere to visit in spring and add colour and joy to a hidden green space in an urban area. They also used the NAEE climate education resources made in the summer at the Woodcraft camps to debate climate ethics justice and gender and make some climate crafts.
In Richmond Hill Primary Academy in Leeds they have been making seed fat balls to keep the birds full in this freezing weather and planting lots of bulbs for flowers and onions and garlic in spring to brighten up their school, learn about how bulbs grow and make our own food. We are also planning a trip to see some llamas in the spring and learn about sustainability and agriculture!
Thanks always to #iwillfund and The Ernest Cook Trust for their support and funding.