CAPTION: Students at The Beacon Church of England Primary School have taken part in an exciting project which has given them a deeper understanding of our planet’s one ocean.
Devon Primary School Students Voice ‘We Are the Ocean’ and Call for Change in Moving COP28 Film
Pupils at The Beacon Church of England Primary School in Exmouth have starred in a film that was released at COP28 this year.
The year six class at the primary school have been working with the Green Futures team at the University of Exeter on the Schools Across the Ocean Project.
The project was jointly developed between the University of Exeter, the Emirates Literature Foundation, Khorfakken University, and other collaborators.
The Schools Across the Ocean project aims to support 79% of teachers who say they want to teach about the climate, but they do not have the knowledge or resources to do so.
Pupils have been learning more about the ocean through poetry, art and foraging Photography by Jim Wileman
The project has given year six pupils at the Beacon Church of England Primary School in Exmouth the opportunity to research and write about sea grass meadows and craft poems about sea creatures.
They have also been appreciating the local coastline, whilst having fun foraging.
The Schools Across the Ocean project has helped the pupils to develop a deeper understanding of our planet’s one ocean.
As part of the project, the pupils were invited to take part in producing a film about the ocean. The film was shown at the COP28 Conference, which is being held from the 30 November-12 December 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
In the film, the pupils were filmed at Exmouth Beach, and they share about how they have twinned with other schools to learn more about other cultures, art, and the ocean.
The hope is that the video will educate others about the importance of our ocean.
The video ends with a call to the audience to act. The students, each sharing a powerful line, said, “we need a big wave to change the laws; to have clean beaches, to grow more seagrass.
“We need to love oceans, to stop creatures dying in nets and drowning in oil.
“We want to keep playing, we’re asking for help. Our voices are calling, we are the ocean!”
Picture by Jim Wileman – Image from the ‘We Are The Ocean’ workshop, Beacon Primary School, Exmouth, Devon.
Tash Ebbutt, who is the Year 6 Teacher at the school, said, “Having the children be involved with the project has been amazing, especially as it has drawn attention to how powerful their voices are for the environment and for their world.
“It has given them agency in realising that they are the future.
“It has been special to see the children learn more about their local environment and celebrate being so close to the coast.”
Anne Billington, who is the Headteacher at The Beacon Church of England Primary School said, “Working with Exeter University and schools across the South West and United Arab Emirates on a project which will be shared globally at COP28 has been an exciting and inspiring opportunity for our children.
“They’ve had expert tuition in school, on the beach and at the University recording studios, developed global partnerships and will now be able to follow the impact of their joint actions as the final video is shown at COP28.
“Asking the big questions about and becoming courageous advocates in caring for God’s world is rooted in our Christian vision to live life in all its fullness (John 10:10).”
13 schools in total across the South West and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been working on the The Schools Across the Ocean project, with a total of 400 students aged between 10-13 learning more about the ocean.
Alongside the short film, a children’s bilingual poetry anthology called ‘We Are the Ocean’ has been released and is available as an e-book on the University of Exeter website. The anthology includes a collection of images and poems, woven together by Anita Wood, Dr Sally Flint, Prof Wendy O’Shea Meddour and Sarah Abdullah from UAE to create the anthology.
It also includes poems which have been co-created via children’s writing workshops, Dr Sally Flint and Professor Wendy O’Shea Meddour at the University of Exeter.
Anita Wood, who is the Education Lead in Exeter’s Graduate School of Education, said, “Schools Across the Ocean is about connecting children in a common endeavour and helping them to develop resilience and empathy in relation to climate change.
“At a time when so many countries still do not have climate change as part of their national curriculum, this is a powerful example of how education can provide young people with that vital sense of agency that they can do something about the environmental challenges we face.”
Sarah Charker, Creation Care Engagement Officer at the Diocese of Exeter said, “It is so exciting to hear how pupils from one of our church primary schools are working collaboratively to raise awareness of environmental issues.
“It is so important to include the emerging generation in the conversations around climate action and protecting the natural world. We should be encouraged that age is no barrier to being heard and that we can all work together to have a positive impact.”
Watch the Schools Across the Ocean video which was presented at COP28 below:
Find out more about the Schools Across the Ocean project here.
