School pupils get creative on climate change

Ahead of COP26 taking place in November, Scotland’s school pupils have taken the opportunity to creatively showcase their thoughts on climate change.

In a competition run by City of Glasgow College, pupils across the country were challenged with designing a piece of jewellery to reflect the world’s climate emergency.

This collaboration between college and schools saw over 300 entries for pendant designs that showed exceptional thought and creativity, as well as high levels of awareness around climate issues.

The two winners were Mirin Scott from Carluke High and Grace Anderson from Blairgowrie High. Grace took first place for S4-S6 with her pendant underlining the urgency of time, while Mirin won the S1-S3 category for her design which highlighted bees becoming endangered.

Grace, who is impassioned about climate change, said:

“I was surprised and delighted to have been selected as a winner in this competition.  I am very interested in the theme of climate change and was thrilled to be able to make a small contribution in raising awareness of such an important issue. I will wear my pendant with pride and hope that it will prompt people to ask questions so I can talk about the issues that will affect my generation and my children going forward and perhaps affect their behaviour in a positive way”.

Mirin, who is 13 years old and wishes to become a vet, said:

“I chose to design around bees as they are becoming extinct and are very important in the world. Many are unaware of their importance so it seemed an interesting subject, as others often think bigger scale global emergency and I wanted to be different. Bees are essential for the health of people and our planet. Honey and other products have medicinal properties, and the role of bees as pollinators makes them vital for food supplies too.

“I feel that something has to be done about climate change, and it must be taken more seriously otherwise we will all face terrible consequences in the future.

“This achievement has made me much more confident and has helped inspire me to succeed in my ambition of becoming a Vet.”

Their designs were 3D printed in the college’s workshops and then cast and turned into silver pendants using recycled silver by Vipa Designs. A virtual awards ceremony was held recently where the winning silver pendants were revealed.

Lisa McGovern, Curriculum Head for Craft and Design at City of Glasgow College, said:

“Mirin and Grace are two very worthy winners and should both be extremely proud of their winning designs.

“The world’s young people are rightly vocal about climate change so this was a very topical theme for the competition. All those young people who picked up a pencil and thought about their planet, their future and channelled it in such a creative way, show that there is hope. They and their teachers should be very proud.”

The entries were judged by Ebba Goring, Director of Scottish Goldsmiths Trust, and Peter Crump, MD of Vipa Designs and Chair of Goldsmiths Craft and Design Council.

The competition challenged school pupils to harness their imagination and creativity, and use the impact of climate change as the basis for their ideas. Their design could be contemporary or traditional in style and submitted as a drawing, either by hand or on computer.