See entries for our #lockdown competition!
Our competition for under-18s shows how young people have been living sustainably during lockdown. Youngsters were asked to send in photos, artwork or a piece of writing inspired by what they have been doing. What wonderful entries we received!
Isobel Mitchell, Chair of the Sustainable St Albans Schools Group which ran the competition, said:
“We were delighted to receive so many lovely entries from the children of the district, enthusing about the eco-friendly activities they have been doing during lockdown. We had some stunning artwork and some fabulous pieces of writing as well as lots of photographs and collages. It was great to find out how children had been connecting with nature and the environment over the last couple of months.”
Just see some of the entries for yourself…
Many children are growing fruit, vegetables and flowers in their gardens or in containers inside and out. Poppy, age 5, and Abbey, age 3, have decorated old containers and planted them with vegetables and herbs.
Meredith, age 14, sent in beautiful drawings of her tomato seedlings at each stage of growth.
Bethany, age 7, is keeping a seed diary recording the changes in plants that she has sowed and said “I planted runner beans, sweetcorn, carrots and peas”.
David, age 9, said: “We have 2 hanging baskets of strawberries, some beetroots, tomatoes, courgettes, peppers, violas, and cress.”
Johanna, 15, said “I have really enjoyed planting new life and caring and nurturing all the plants.”
Housing nature
Many have been creating habitats for animals and plants such as building bug hotels, digging ponds and growing wild flowers for bees and other pollinators. Justin, age 14, sent in a picture of his bug hotel made from pallets.
Other young people are enjoying having the time to simply watch the nature in their garden
Kate, age 10, submitted a picture of all her garden’s nature-friendly features including swift boxes on the house and pollinator-friendly plants.
Anna, age 7, made a collage showing a baby blue tit that had fledged from its nest and landed on her patio.
Emma, age 10, captured many children’s love of nature when she wote:
“Nature is fun, fascinating, it gives you a good attitude, and it refreshes your mind. We need to live in harmony with our environment, not only using it but taking care of it and enjoying the beauty of all different places.”
Arts and Crafts
Sustainable art and craft has been a popular activity during lockdown. Alfie, age 3, and Josh, age 5 took photographs of the papier mâché bowl they made using recycled materials.
Callum, age 8, created a 3D picture of a shark from his family’s recycling and entitled it “Make Art to Save the Sea”.
Priya, age 11, made a pen holder from recycled materials.
Many children and their families are repurposing unwanted items. Edwyn, age 11, showed ideas that he and his family have designed for their garden makeover.
He said “We used pieces of chimney found in a skip as plant pots and used old roof tiles as lawn edging.”
Lina, age 6, was particularly proud of the house she has made for her cat from cardboard boxes.
Exploring #wildplay
Other children showed how they are exploring the St Albans district area on bikes and foot. Eva, age 8, sent in a photo of herself and younger sisters exploring a local area.
With shops closed and warm weather, young people’s thoughts are also turning to fashion -with creative ideas on how to make the most of what they already own.
Alexandra, age 13, said “I used leftover avocado pits and skin to tie dye an old shirt so that I would want to wear it more often, and it wouldn’t go to waste.”
Sienna, age 12, sums up the spirit of the competition well when she wrote in her entry: “Helping the environment is really important because without it we wouldn’t be able to survive or exist. It’s the place where all humans live. If you don’t help the environment, it’s over; there is no planet B like earth.”
Catherine Ross, trustee of Sustainable St. Albans said: “We hope this heightened appreciation and awareness of the environment will continue post-lockdown and will encourage all of us to #buildbackbetter. We can continue to walk and cycle more, rather than using the car, and look after the natural world on our doorsteps and beyond.”
All the entries were put into a prize draw and five of the entries received a £15 token.
If you and your family are looking for ideas on creating habitats and looking after the environment, take a look at our Sustainable St Albans Lockdown A-Z.
Enjoy looking through lots of the entries in our display below.:
