About Us

The Lancashire Schools Sustainability Forum, in close association with the Sustainability Learning CIC, helps deliver the Schools Sustainability Conferences. The Forum is a platform sharing skills, knowledge and experience in promoting education for sustainable development (ESD) in schools and other learning communities in Lancashire including the organisation of annual conferences for primary and secondary school pupils. It encourages environmental education and learning outside the classroom, with an emphasis on real world links to jobs and future career prospects.

A little bit about Sustainability Learning CIC

Sustainability Learning CIC is a new Community Interest Company established in November 2022 to work closely with the Lancashire Schools Sustainability Forum. Its Directors include Glynis Goldsbrough, Wendy Litherland and David Reid.
It aims to assist identified learning communities in implementing the Government's Sustainability and Climate Change Policy as it relates to each setting. It offers support for Sustainability Leads in these settings. This involves Continual Professional Development paid for by the settings. It also promotes the work and learning opportunities of other Forum members.

Photo of a oak tree with a leaf on top
Photo of the St Christopher's Eco Group
A little bit about Eco Group

The Eco-Group shares its knowledge of education for sustainability and good practice with local and national schools. In Autumn 2022 students presented to the NGA conference on sustainability. The plethora of benefits linked to promoting positive sustainable initiatives within its school community and the wider community, include food growing on site, Bikability training for all (by Easter 2023 year 8-12 will all hold level 3 Bikability) active community work with homeless charities over 8 years as well as masses of well-being benefits. We work not on fear, but facts. The school works in partnership with the Lancashire Schools Sustainability Forum.
Students' participation at the conference is highly prized and applications begin after Easter, for Trashion Show participants, workshop leads, or guides. They will engage with their given group of primary school children (supporting their learning, ensuring inclusion, participation and a sense of well-being). Eco-Group feature in all learning activities on offer at the conference and have in the past delivered peer to peer workshops, but many help to set up the venue and support the Conference Facilitator run the programme which aims to ensure teachers and pupils experience a varied range of activities and ideas in just one day. This year senior students will deliver to the SLT CPD session. The Eco-Group regularly showcase some of its projects in the Marketplace, in 2022 our Geography department was featured.

Testimonials

Over the years, we've had a number of students attend the conferences. Here's what they had to say...

I took charge of a group of younger children acting as a group leader. We had a good time exploring the marketplace activities. I enjoyed meeting Ellie and Amy and learning about Kids Against Plastic.

JorjaYear 8 Student

I spent a lot of time learning about rivers and canals and the living things that live there.

HenryYear 6 Student

The Conference was awesome. Unique in every way.

EvelynYear 7 Student

The Eco Conference really opened my eyes to all the plastic bottles we through away every day.

AmyYear 7 Student