As Earth Day approaches on April 22, Chester Zoo, in partnership with MBNA, is celebrating two successful years of the Project Schools: Climate and Sustainability educational workshops.
Led by the zoo’s resident conservation educators, the programme is dedicated to educating 10 to 14-year-olds, from schools across the North West on the importance of preserving global biodiversity, helping tackle climate anxiety among the younger generation.
Leveraging Chester Zoo’s extensive insight and research, the programme aims to equip all students with the tools needed to build a more sustainable future and feel empowered to take action against climate change.
Delivered via a combination of classroom-based workshops and visits to the zoo, pupils cover themes including the impact of climate change on our planet, how human activity is influencing global temperatures and extreme weather, the different types of palm oil, and the positive changes people can make every day to help make a difference.
The final session is an opportunity for students and teachers to attend the zoo and learn about species threatened by climate change and how individuals and society can help prevent extinction.
As part of their involvement in the programme, following their final education session, students are gifted a free ticket to return to Chester Zoo with their families, encouraging them to pass on what they have learnt.
Exciting opportunities
Charlotte Smith, director of Conservation Education at Chester Zoo, said: “We’re delighted to see the impact the Project Schools has had on the young people who have attended so far, and we’re so pleased to have engaged so many pupils from across the region.
“We’ve received fantastic feedback from teachers explaining how they’ve already put plans in place to encourage their students to live more sustainably, which is the ultimate goal of the programme.
“The funding from the MBNA Community Investment Programme has been transformative and unlocked so many exciting opportunities for us to further engage local schools, teachers and students in taking climate action.”
Since launching Project Schools in 2022, along with the support from MBNA, Chester Zoo has delivered 166 workshops with nine local schools, engaged 1,199 pupils in climate change action, arriving more than 50% above target for total sessions delivered across the academic year.
Speaking of the Project Schools programme, Victoria Dowd, MBNA community investment partnership manager, said: “It’s been an honour to support the Project Schools programme and we’re delighted to see how it continues to grow from strength to strength.
“There are so many exciting workshops planned for the Spring and Summer terms, we’re delighted to play a role in giving back to our local community and provide sessions to those students who may not otherwise have the opportunity..”
A year six pupil from a North West Derby school said: “I really enjoyed the zoo; it was the first time I ever went I couldn’t believe how many animals I saw on the day.
“My hopes for the future are that I can help conservation, I would really like to work at the zoo especially with the giraffes.”
The workshops are hosted during the Autumn, Spring and Summer terms, and dates for each workshop can be flexible according to the school’s timetable.
A dedicated video on the mission of the programme can be found here: https://www.mbna.co.uk/about-
