Sustainable Stories - with the children of Temple Primary School
The exhibition drew on work carried out by the Mistra Urban Futures Greater Manchester Local Interaction Platform and was part of the Economic and Social Research Council’s Festival of Social Science. It was organised around the themes of the Mistra Urban Futures centre: Fair, Green and Dense.
The exhibition featured:
- Speakers Corner: invited representatives of local organisations and groups tell their story on sustainability (3-4th November, only, 1300 and 1500)
- Exhibition of community stories, gathered by community members
- Exhibition of artwork and short film produced by the Ecoschools Team at Temple Primary
- Evidence base
- Six pilot activities carried out as part of Mistra Urban Futures Greater Manchester Local Interaction Platform in 2012
- Case studies, photographs, workshops, interviews
-
Facts and figures drawn from official statistics within Greater Manchester strategy and evidence documents
Working with Temple Primary School
Sustainable urban development is about now and the future. What state are we leaving the world in for our children and generations to come? This pilot project aimed to explore how creative play and production could encourage children to think about sustainability in relation to their local area.
The project brought together the Centre for Sustainable Urban and Regional Futures at the University of Salford, Buddleia, Creative Concern, Manchester Environmental Education Network and okf productions.
The process involved:
- An exploration of the local area in Cheetham Hill
- A ‘philosophy for children’ session around the themes of Fair, Green and Dense cities
- A reflection and story-telling exercise
- Production of large-scale art work depicting utopian and dystopian visions of future Cheetham Hill
- A short stop-start animation
- An eco-rap performed by the children.
The project was led by the SURF team at the Unvieristy of Salford. Many thanks to Laura Burton and all the children of the Eco-Schools Team at Temple Primary School, Cheetham Hill for their inspiring work: Laura, Emmie, Julia, Javeria, Rabi Ullah, Bushra, Mariam, Mariyah, Dylan, Assad and Julia.
Temple Primary School's Eco-Rap
Beth Perry, University of Salford
Laura Burton, Temple Primary School
Kerenza McClarnan, Buddleia
Raichael Locke, MEEN
Temple Primary Pupils
Click below to download a PDF of the exhibition presentation or a handout PDF that accompanied the event.
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Contributor Profile
Professor, Urban Institute, University of Sheffield
I am a Professorial Fellow in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Sheffield. I describe myself as an interdisciplinary urbanist, interested in processes of transformation and change, particularly around governance and policy processes; the roles of universities in their urban environments; and the research-practice relationship.
