Climate Change Science Fair Inspires Future Solutions

The Sustainability Committee held the first ever Climate Change Science Fair at Stephen Perse Cambridge this year. In this competition, students were required to participate in groups of 3-4 and complete a project on a sustainability-related issue they were interested in. This had to be under one of the themes provided this year: Water, Energy, Waste, or Animal Protection. Furthermore, the students were tasked to research their chosen issue and propose a solution, as well as finally presenting their project on the day of the fair - an energised lunchtime!

There were four project submissions this year:

• Illegal Animal Trading completed by Year 7 students Heloisa vTC, Nefeli T, Nico S, and Rosanna C.
• The environmental impact of energy by Year 8 student Junqing L.
• The impact of water pollution on jellyfish by Year 8 students Amnay B, Amina T and Eileen M.
• The impact of overfishing on penguins by Year 9 students Katie C, Katie M and Tara A.

Students across the school were able to vote on the projects under these categories: originality in their project/solution and presentation. The committee then further assessed the projects, looking at how well they answered their project title, how in depth their research was and whether these were explained. After much thought, we decided the winner to be Amnay B, Amina T, and Eileen M in Year 8. Their title was “How water pollution is clawing the future of symbiosis in the sea”, with a focus on the impacts on jellyfish. Their project was not only engaging, but also in-depth as they delved into different factors; such as climate change, and how contamination of chemicals have a chained reaction impact on biological systems before finally reaching the jellyfish. Aside from explanations on their findings, we were especially amazed by how they mentioned how the solutions would work in practice along with evaluation points!

From deciding the themes for the fair to hosting the fair on the day, I have learnt many invaluable skills along the way of organising this fair. In particular, there were many more layers to working out the logistics than I expected. How could it be advertised for more publicity? The process of securing a date, location and time for the fair. What equipment is required on the day? How can we reduce bias when deciding the winner? E.t.c.

Overall, I am very impressed by all of their work and enthusiasm! It has been an enriching experience leading and working with the Sustainability Committee, and I have thoroughly enjoyed interacting with students and staff across the school.