My experience in the Sustainability into Primary Schools Programme
Hello, my name is Lis Xcaret Jiménez, and I have just completed my MSc in Ecological Economics at the University of Leeds. In this blog, I would like to reflect on my experience volunteering with the Sustainability into Primary Schools (SIPS) Programme.
A year ago, when I started my MSc, I decided that I wanted to challenge myself beyond the classroom; I wanted to get involved in activities that would take me out of my comfort zone, allow me to make a positive contribution to the community, and help enhance my employability skills along the way.
When I first learned about the Sustainability into Primary Schools initiative, I felt that it was exactly the kind of activity I was looking for. SIPS is a volunteering programme where students plan, design and deliver one-hour workshops, either individually or in small groups, on a sustainability-related topic to primary school pupils in Leeds. I saw this initiative as an opportunity to share my passion for sustainability with younger generations and, hopefully, inspire their curiosity about the environment and why it is important to take care of it.
The whole experience was great fun. It started when I first heard about the initiative and joined the information session. Afterwards, I asked a friend if she would like to join me in designing and delivering the workshops. We really enjoyed designing the materials and thinking about activities that could keep the students engaged while helping them understand the topic. Working together on ideas and creating the workshops was also a great way to take a break from our academic responsibilities. It allowed us to be creative, work collaboratively, and simply enjoy doing something different from our usual university work.
When the day arrived to deliver our workshop, I was, of course, a little nervous. Although I had experience presenting in front of an audience, children were probably my most challenging audience yet! Keeping their attention and finding ways to make the activities engaging was certainly a challenge, but we never felt that we were on our own. The teachers were incredibly supportive and helped us throughout the sessions.
We delivered our workshop to two different groups, reaching around 60 students. It was such a fun and rewarding experience, and I finished the day feeling proud of what we had achieved. It made me feel that I was making a positive contribution and, hopefully, leaving those students with a little more curiosity and enthusiasm about sustainability. Beyond that, I also practised my communication, teamwork, presentation, and creativity skills.
So if you are passionate about sustainability, climate change and/or biodiversity, and you would like to make a positive contribution while developing skills that can add value to your CV, I would definitely encourage you to apply to the SIPS Programme!
If you are interested in delivering sustainability related workshops in local primary schools, please email Siobhan Maguire [email protected]
We use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework to guide our activity. Our work in the Sustainability into Schools Programme is linked to the following SDGs:
- SDG 4: Quality Education
- SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
- SDG 13: Climate Action
- SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
