Most people see discarded bottle caps from milk and soft drink bottles as rubbish. Stuart Muir Wilson, Program Coordinator at our Ecological Justice Hub, sees them as a way to reimagine climate education and climate action in schools.
Stuart Muir Wilson with a plant pot created out of discarded bottle tops
My biggest hope is to teach and empower young people with the skills and resources we've got available to us, to meet the world’s most pressing problems at a local scale, and for young people to be able to do something different, inspiring and better.
Program Coordinator at our Ecological Justice Hub
Stuart has created a six-month-long school workshop program centred around processing recycled plastics into practical products such as plant pots, cutting boards, utility clips, garden tools and more.
The program helps to show the value of recycled plastics, as opposed to their traditional role as a single-use item. What he creates alongside his students makes us reconsider what we throw away.
With the help of lid donations from neighbourhood houses and school groups, the workshop processed about 260 kilos of plastic last year. Stuart says that the volunteers play an integral part in “making these beautiful products and of moving them through into the circular economy with passion and purpose.”
Student involvement in the workshop is mutually enriching for both the Hub and the children. The students learn practical and tangible ways they can make a difference. The Hub relies on volunteers and financial support to help it continue its efforts.
The program is great because students can really participate and be empowered. The current curriculum on the climate and environment can be quite disempowering and is causing a lot of anxiety in young people…it’s all about the problems and it isn’t giving them any solutions to think about or implement.
Program Coordinator at our Ecological Justice Hub
“The plastic program gives them multiple entry points to consider how they can be part of the solution whilst simultaneously showing them a new skill and exposing them to a new vocation or educational pathway.”
“Schools wanting to actively engage with us is one of the biggest changes,” says Stuart. “The project allows us to develop a space where we can continue to engage with more schools and students.” The Hub is working with educators to encourage a commitment to social justice projects as part of the standard curriculum.
If we can keep working with schools and educating state government funders to keep changing their guidelines to better meet ecological justice outcomes, that will help us have the greatest impact.
Program Coordinator at our Ecological Justice Hub
