The children in Years 3 and 4 at Batheaston Church School have been inspired by their ‘World Innovators’ topic to tackle the plastic pollution revolution head on. They began by carrying out a litter pick around their local community and while proud of their work, were also shocked and sadden by the huge amount of plastic litter that they collected.
Determined to inspire change, they decided to write to the Prime Minister and large supermarkets to urge them to change their policies on single use, convenience plastic wrapping on multipack tin cans, fruit and vegetables. The children simply could not understand why bananas, apples, pears, potatoes and such like are sold in plastic bags by large supermarkets when they could easily be just popped into reusable cloth bags or straight into the trolley. They now eagerly await responses to their letters.
Emotionally moved to inspire change even further, the children studied the work of the award-winning international artist, Mandy Barker, who currently has an exhibition at Lacock Abbey. Mandy collects plastic debris from beaches all around the world to produce thought-provoking photographic art spectacles.
Although Mandy could not join the children for the afternoon, she did send them all a video about how she produces her work, which inspired the children to create their own compositions using plastic rubbish that they had collected at home.
In March, their images will be displayed along the Bathampton Meadow path alongside some of the Year 3 children’s plastic pollution poetry. Year 3 teachers, Jenny Enstone and Kate Meynell and their class, would like to encourage Wiltshire residents and local school children to take a walk along the meadow path as they hope their artwork and poetry can inspire even more plastic pollution innovators in Bath and Wiltshire.