Climate conference report by Freddy Ireland

On Friday the eighteenth of March the A-level geography students went to the Lancing College climate symposium. The day consisted of an exhibition and a lecture from the University of Brighton. The first talk in the morning was held virtually due to a high number of covid infections at the school. However, the day was still very insightful and it gave us an opportunity to consolidate on what we had already learned. The day gave us an opportunity to speak to people in our local area working in sustainability. Different organisations were present at the exhibition including people from the Rampion wind farm, the South Downs national park, the University of Southampton and the University of Brighton. All of these organisations told us about what they were doing to try and promote sustainability.

In the on-line lecture, we got to hear from an organisation who were building completely sustainable villages. They made sure that the buildings were insulated, and there were no cars allowed in parts of the village. Also all of the houses were powered on renewable energy. The lecturer said that we were in the greatest mass extinction event since the dinosaurs, and we had to act fast to ensure that us humans were not included in this extinction event. The day was very accessible and we all feel that it helped us to revisit what we had already learned, and it was extremely exciting to hear from people who were working in the actual field of sustainability, and how they were trying to tackle the unprecedented issues we face today.

The other colleges that had attended the event all contributed to the day. It was a very powerful moment when we were reminded that already we were all being affected by this issue. If no action was taken now then it would become a lot more difficult for us to survive. I think that by the end of the day everyone was much more aware of how they were being affected by the issue.

During the lunch break while we were not having a talk from an organisation, we got the chance to tour the chapel of Lancing College. The students, and teachers were incredibly welcoming on arrival and they all were grateful that we were able to come and contribute our ideas to the conference.

Freddy Ireland – Angmering Sixth Form College