Apr 14, 2026
We're very excited about the workshops at this year's summit. Below is a list of the 6 workshops with some information about themes and content to help you make your choices. We've also made indicated the relevant SDGs for each one.
On the day you'll be doing 2 different workshops and on the form, we're asking for 3 choices from you - this helps us with planning and logistics. We'll be doing our very best to make sure you get to do 2 of the 3 workshops you've chosen, but each workshop slot has limited capacity and places will be determined on a first-come-first-served basis.
If you have any questions, please send an email to alison@cdec.org.uk
1 - When we tread upon the Earth: an exploration of our school site - Jenny Lobo
Join the Nature Park team in taking a closer look at the nature that makes your school unique. Our workshop will be outside (unless it’s really pouring!) and we’ll be using our senses to discover more about the habitats and their inhabitants that you share your school site with. Together we’ll try a series of activities to spark your interest:
- sound mapping
- grassland plant survey
- poetry
- pollinator count
2 - Be a Water Hero and make a mini rain planter! - Mia Ambrose (Cumbria Rivers Trust)
Ever wondered where rain goes when it hits your school? What if you could slow it down, reduce flooding, and help boost biodiversity at the same time?
Get ready to dig in, get a bit messy, and build something real in this hands-on workshop!
- learn what SuDS are
- play with pipes, compost and plants to build your own mini rain planter
- take your mini planter back to your school and see how it works
3 - Don’t blow the budget! - Geoff Norman (CDEC)
Like a lot of important things, carbon budgets sound pretty boring, but...in this workshop we aim to get hands-on in an attempt to make sense of:
- what a carbon budget is
- why it matters
- what we can do to make it balance
4 - Love presents? Let’s make them kinder on the planet! - Charlotte Curl
When do we give gifts, and why? Are some presents better for the environment than others? And what rules could we apply when choosing a present for friends or family?
We’ll explore these questions and discuss Charlotte’s book Elf Chloe’s Surprise in which Chloe makes a shocking discovery about the toys made in Santa’s workshop - and decides to rethink the gifts they give.
This will be a fun, relatable workshop, giving the children practical actions they and their families can take.
5 - Connecting with Nature - Freya Lovett (Cumbria Wildlife Trust)
Learn about the nature on your school grounds and how you can help look after it
- make wildflower seed balls that you can take to use at school or home
- nature art - learn to identify different plants and keep a reminder of them to take home
- identify and observe pollinators and other insects and learn how important they are
- learn about the various things you can do to help increase biodiversity in school grounds
6 - School Food Revolution: Power of the Plate - Martin Skingley (ProVeg)
What if you could help protect our planet, improve your health, and eat delicious food - all through the simplest of changes?
Well, great news - you can!
We will explore how ProVeg helps schools make small changes to menus that can have a big impact. Through a series of games and activities, we will explore the impact of food and explain simple shifts schools can make to reduce their carbon footprint.
Using ideas from our Canteen to Classroom education programme, students will gain impactful actions to take back to school to help launch their own school food revolution - and even some positive changes to take into their own lives too.
Small changes, big impact.