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Primary School Art Competition
Plastic made Fantastic!
Teacher, Parent & Guardian Resource Pack
CoventryCAN is network of organisations, groups, clubs, teams and people based in and around
Coventry. We want to join people together to make Coventry a cleaner, greener, healthier city by
promoting sustainable actions. We want to share information, research and ideas and initiate
collaborations wherever possible. We want to connect communities and have fun taking action! Any
action, any size, any time. I CAN, you CAN, we CAN… CoventryCAN!
This pack has been reviewed by primary school teachers. Mrs Morris, of Whoberley Hall Primary, Coventry
commented; ‘This is a comprehensive pack of resources which enables children to express their creativity
in a fun way, whilst extending their learning about climate change and related topics’.
Mrs Urquhart, Head of Early Years, believes that ‘whilst the younger children may not fully understand all
the content the addition of video clips is really helpful and I know that our children will just love taking
part in this project and get a lot out of doing so’.
Each school will select their 4 best entries. These entries will be displayed at an ART EXHIBITION in the City
Centre’s main Conference Hall, Coventry Central Hall, Methodist Church, Warwick Lane, CV1 2HA, from
Tuesday 18th to Friday 21st of April, the second week of the school Easter Holidays.
The 4 exhibited artists from each school will be invited (along with their parents, siblings and teachers) to
an Award Ceremony on International Earth Day, Saturday April 22nd at Coventry Central Hall. All artists
will be presented with a certificate by the Lord Mayor, who will then announce the two winning entries.
There will then be a free lunch and celebratory event.
Funding: University of Warwick ESRC Impact Acceleration Account grant ref ES/M500434/1, University of Warwick Global
Governance and Energy Research Priorities, Coventry Central Hall has provided free space for the exhibition.
Printed on 100% recycled paper. © CoventryCAN 2017. All images free from Pixabay & the Toxic Expertise ERC Research Grant.
Competition Details:
1. The competition is a part of Coventry’s Go Green Week which is March 6th - 12th
2017.
2. Entries are welcome from individual pupils and there are two age categories.
Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 in the first age category, and then Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 in
the second age category. Each school Head will select their school’s four best pieces
of art (two from each age category) to be entered into the competition.
3. We envisage that schools will create the art as part of Go Green Week and hold
internal competitions or similar in order to select the 4 entered pieces.
4. In order to enter, the piece of art must be photographed and this image emailed to
CoventryCAN. Along with the schools name, contact details, children’s name/s, ages,
a title for the piece of art and a few quotes from the children explaining what they
learnt/what they think/feel about climate change and/or plastic. E.g. ‘I learnt that
making plastic things pollutes the air with carbon dioxide and this makes the climate
change’. Or ‘I liked making this art and I hope that it shows people that they should
always recycle their plastic.’
5. The images will be used on CoventryCAN’s website and social media. We would love
for you to include the children in the image (with parental consent) but understand if
this is not possible.
6. Children do not have to complete their piece of art during Go Green Week or even
during school time. It can be done as homework or just for fun. All we ask is that the
entry email comes from the school to ensure that we only get 4 entries per school.
7. All entries must be emailed to CoventryCAN before Friday March 31st.
8. The winning schools will receive a £500 budget each that will be held by
CoventryCAN to spend on a green project for their school.
9. Ideally the project will be carried out in either June/July 2017 or September/early
October 2017 and must be completed by the end of October 2017. The funds can be
used in addition to other school funds, such as those raised by PTAs. But
CoventryCAN will hold the budget with the school requesting the purchase of items.
This will be organised directly with the winning schools after the winners have been
announced.
Funding: University of Warwick ESRC Impact Acceleration Account grant ref ES/M500434/1, University of Warwick Global
Governance and Energy Research Priorities, Coventry Central Hall has provided free space for the exhibition.
Printed on 100% recycled paper. © CoventryCAN 2017. All images free from Pixabay & the Toxic Expertise ERC Research Grant.
10. The project must be eco-friendly/green and help the school to be more
sustainable/teach more about sustainability/carbon reduction. E.g. an allotment
(these can be tub based); a ‘habitat’ area for local wildlife; recycling bins; food waste
composting bins; or an environmentally informative school trip. Anything that will
help your school be more and/or teach more about sustainability!
11. CoventryCAN can assist with carrying out the project through utilising our student
volunteers if you need additional help digging up soil or erecting bird houses, for
instance. We will also be able to help with managing the project, if this is required.
12. CoventryCAN will need an image/s of the project being done/finished and a
paragraph from someone involved in the project. This will be used on our website
and in local press releases.
Any questions about the project and/or the competition should be sent to India Holme
(CoventryCAN Project Manager) at [email protected]
Funding: University of Warwick ESRC Impact Acceleration Account grant ref ES/M500434/1, University of Warwick Global
Governance and Energy Research Priorities, Coventry Central Hall has provided free space for the exhibition.
Printed on 100% recycled paper. © CoventryCAN 2017. All images free from Pixabay & the Toxic Expertise ERC Research Grant.
Plastic made Fantastic: Background Information
The Anthropocene Age
We had the Jurassic Period with the dinosaurs! ROARRRR – these
guys ruled the planet…
We had the Holocene Epoch with the end of the Ice Age! BRRRR
– it’s been chilly but not anymore…
Now some experts say we have the ‘Anthropocene Age’. Where
we, people like you and me, rule the planet and we have taken over the Earth so much that
the things we do are changing it forever. Some scientists say that this is the ‘Age of Plastic’.
There is a Professor at the University of Leicester who
knows lots about plastic and the planet. He said that
plastic things are ‘everywhere on Earth, from
mountain tops to the deep ocean floor – and can be
fossilized into the far future. We now make almost a
billion tons of the stuff every three years.’
A billion tons! That’s a lot of plastic!
We couldn’t imagine how much that was so did a little bit of maths.
An average seven year old weighs around 22.4 kilograms. So how many seven year olds
would we need to get together so we had a billion tons of seven year olds?
We would need 44642857143 seven year olds. A number too big to understand!
It is about … forty-four billion, six hundred forty-two million, eight hundred fifty-seven
thousand seven year olds!
There are around 7.5 billion people living on the Earth today and just under 2 billion of
them are children aged under 15. So there aren’t even enough 7 year olds in the world to
get them together to weigh the same amount as the plastic we make in three years!
We don’t think plastic is inherently ‘good’ or ‘bad’. We know we need plastic for lots of
things but maybe we make and use too much? Or maybe we don’t manage our plastic
waste well enough?
Funding: University of Warwick ESRC Impact Acceleration Account grant ref ES/M500434/1, University of Warwick Global
Governance and Energy Research Priorities, Coventry Central Hall has provided free space for the exhibition.
Printed on 100% recycled paper. © CoventryCAN 2017. All images free from Pixabay & the Toxic Expertise ERC Research Grant.
We do know that plastic is polluting the Earth. We
can find plastic rubbish everywhere. In the
stomachs of whales, fish and seabirds, washed up
on beaches, littered on roads.
This is because once something has been made
out of plastic it might never disappear and go
away. Well who cares you might say? I don’t want
my plastic toys and drinks bottles to ‘disappear’.
But what about when you are finished with them?
Let’s imagine you have a nice bottle
of lemonade and then throw your
bottle in the bin and don’t recycle it.
This little bottle could go to ‘landfill’
which is a giant hole full of all the
cities rubbish. Or it could go to the
‘incinerator’ which is a big, giant fire
that burns all the rubbish away and
makes lots of nasty smoke and fumes.
If it goes to landfill then it will be
there forever! It won’t ever
decompose. Decompose is a fancy word for saying it will break down into teeny, tiny pieces
and disappear into the soil. If it goes to an incinerator then burning it will create more
pollution from the smoke.
There isn’t just the problem of what to do with plastic things once we don’t want them
anymore. Even making the plastic things in the first place is bad for the environment.
Making Plastic
The factories that make plastic have to use some
chemicals called petrochemicals.
These petrochemicals are made using the same substance,
petroleum, which makes the petrol we use for our cars.
Making these petrochemicals so we can make plastic
things is bad for the environment.
The petrochemicals that make the plastic things we use
Funding: University of Warwick ESRC Impact Acceleration Account grant ref ES/M500434/1, University of Warwick Global
Governance and Energy Research Priorities, Coventry Central Hall has provided free space for the exhibition.
Printed on 100% recycled paper. © CoventryCAN 2017. All images free from Pixabay & the Toxic Expertise ERC Research Grant.
are made in places called ‘Petrochemical Plants’. And by plants we don’t mean pretty green
flowery things. We mean huge, giant factories that make lots of pollution when they create
these petrochemicals. The factories that turn petrochemicals into plastic and other things
we use every day also create pollution.
Pollution like this has something inside it called carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is also found
in the fumes that come out of our cars.
Petrochemicals made
at the Petrochemical
Plant
A factory uses the
petrochemicals to
make some plastic
The plastic is then used
to make plastic things,
like bottles, toys and
computers
You should watch this three minute video on YouTube ‘Educational video for kids: How
Plastic is Made’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3BjWvTT9Ro
If you want to more about the petrochemical industry and the complex issue of toxic in
relation to health, the economy and the environment then check out a research project at
the University of Warwick called ‘Toxic Expertise’. This highly topical, interdisciplinary
project examines the different claims made about the health impacts of toxic pollution.
Carbon Dioxide and the Earth
Carbon dioxide pollution gets trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere. The atmosphere is like a
great big bubble that protects the Earth from the really strong heat made by the sun and
keeps in all the air (oxygen) that we need to breathe.
But when carbon dioxide pollution gets trapped inside our atmosphere it makes something
happen. This something is called the greenhouse gas effect.
The Climate Kids NASA website explains what the greenhouse gas effect is really well.
http://climatekids.nasa.gov/greenhouse-effect/ accessed 16/01/2017
Funding: University of Warwick ESRC Impact Acceleration Account grant ref ES/M500434/1, University of Warwick Global
Governance and Energy Research Priorities, Coventry Central Hall has provided free space for the exhibition.
Printed on 100% recycled paper. © CoventryCAN 2017. All images free from Pixabay & the Toxic Expertise ERC Research Grant.
What is a greenhouse?
A greenhouse is made of glass. It traps the Sun's energy inside and keeps the plants warm,
even in winter.
A greenhouse is a house made of glass. It has glass walls and
a glass roof. People grow tomatoes and flowers and other
plants in them. A greenhouse stays warm inside, even during
winter. Sunlight shines in and warms the plants and air inside.
But the heat is trapped by the glass and can't escape. So
during the daylight hours, it gets warmer and warmer inside a
greenhouse, and stays pretty warm at night too.
How is Earth a
greenhouse?
Earth's atmosphere does the same
thing as the greenhouse. Gases in
the atmosphere such as carbon
dioxide do what the roof of a
greenhouse does. During the day,
the Sun shines through the
atmosphere. Earth's surface
warms up in the sunlight. At night,
Earth's surface cools, releasing the
heat back into the air. But some of
the heat is trapped by the
greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere. That's what keeps
our Earth a warm and cozy 59
degrees Fahrenheit, on average.
Greenhouse effect of Earth's
atmosphere keeps some of the
Sun's energy from escaping back
into space at night.
Funding: University of Warwick ESRC Impact Acceleration Account grant ref ES/M500434/1, University of Warwick Global
Governance and Energy Research Priorities, Coventry Central Hall has provided free space for the exhibition.
Printed on 100% recycled paper. © CoventryCAN 2017. All images free from Pixabay & the Toxic Expertise ERC Research Grant.
Is it warm in here, or is it just me?
You might think 59 degrees
Fahrenheit is pretty cold. Or, you
might think that's warm. It depends
on what you are used to. That
temperature would melt all the
Arctic ice. Yes, it's colder than 59
degrees in a lot of places, and hotter
than 59 degrees in a lot of places,
but 59 is the average of all of the
places.
If the atmosphere causes too much
greenhouse effect, Earth just gets
warmer and warmer.
The point is, if the greenhouse effect
is too strong, Earth gets warmer and
warmer. This is what is happening
now. Too much carbon dioxide and
other greenhouse gases in the air
are making the greenhouse effect
stronger.
Climate Change
Hopefully those clever people at NASA have helped to explain the greenhouse gas effect.
The greenhouse gas effect is also called global warming because the effect it has on the
Earth (globe) is to warm it up and this warming up is what we often mean when we say
‘climate change’. Explain That Stuff website can teach us about what climate change is.
Climate change is nothing new. Earth's climate has been changing regularly for hundreds of
millions of years, sometimes getting colder and sometimes warmer. Everyone knows about
Ice Ages—those periods of history when Earth was far colder than it is now. The climate
change people talk about today seems to be different.
Funding: University of Warwick ESRC Impact Acceleration Account grant ref ES/M500434/1, University of Warwick Global
Governance and Energy Research Priorities, Coventry Central Hall has provided free space for the exhibition.
Printed on 100% recycled paper. © CoventryCAN 2017. All images free from Pixabay & the Toxic Expertise ERC Research Grant.
Most scientists believe it is caused by global warming (the greenhouse gas effect). Whereas
traditional climate change makes Earth as a whole either hotter or cooler, modern climate
change is going to make the climate much more erratic—hotter in some places, cooler in
others; drier in some places; wetter elsewhere. In a nutshell, climate change means the type
of weather we experience will change—perhaps quite dramatically in some places—as the
years go by.
 So our climate is changing = climate change.
 And getting warmer = global warming.
 And this global warming is caused by gases such as carbon dioxide trapping heat in
our atmosphere = the greenhouse gas effect.
 And some of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is created by petrochemical
plants and all the processes involved in making plastic.
 The more carbon dioxide that we create the stronger the greenhouse gas effect and
the warmer it becomes. Making plastic creates carbon dioxide. The landfills and
incinerators when unrecycled plastic ends up also create carbon dioxide.
Here are some short YouTube videos for kids all about global warming/climate change.
Climate Change (according to a kid) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv7OHfpIRfU
Global Warming – Educational Video for Kids
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6zW43U7yqM
Climate Animation - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa58h4IJ6Hk
Funding: University of Warwick ESRC Impact Acceleration Account grant ref ES/M500434/1, University of Warwick Global
Governance and Energy Research Priorities, Coventry Central Hall has provided free space for the exhibition.
Printed on 100% recycled paper. © CoventryCAN 2017. All images free from Pixabay & the Toxic Expertise ERC Research Grant.
Why does it matter if the Earth gets warmer?
You might think it will be nicer to be a bit warmer. But a warmer climate isn’t like a nice
hot, sunny day. A warmer climate will change and effect lots of people, places and
animals and the changes and effects are not all good. Here are a few things that can
happen or are happening as the Earth’s climate changes due to global warming and the
greenhouse gas effect which is caused by too much carbon dioxide.
1. Global warming causes ice to melt in icy places in the world and on mountain tops.
Lots of melted ice (water) then flows down into streams, rivers, lakes and seas. This
causes the sea to rise causing floods and massive destruction to low-lying towns and
cities along the coasts.
2. As the people at NASA told us, the weather could become more extreme. With
droughts (water shortages) or violent storms and heavy rain.
3. Climate change also changes the natural habitats and lives of many plants and
animals. Polar bears and penguins in icy regions are in danger because they cannot
survive anywhere else. Other plants and animals in hot regions will die if
temperatures suddenly become too cold for them.
Climate change has many effects and you can learn about these on the following kids
websites:
http://www.eschooltoday.com/climate-change/effects-of-climate-change.html
http://climatekids.nasa.gov/climate-change-evidence/
http://www.explainthatstuff.com/globalwarmingforkids.html
Now we know that carbon dioxide is making our climate warm up and causing climate
change. Lots of things make carbon dioxide pollution and you can learn about this at the
following kid’s websites:
http://whatsyourimpact.org/greenhouse-gases/carbon-dioxide-emissions
http://www.clean-air-kids.org.uk/globalwarming.html
https://www.c2es.org/science-impacts/basics/kids
Funding: University of Warwick ESRC Impact Acceleration Account grant ref ES/M500434/1, University of Warwick Global
Governance and Energy Research Priorities, Coventry Central Hall has provided free space for the exhibition.
Printed on 100% recycled paper. © CoventryCAN 2017. All images free from Pixabay & the Toxic Expertise ERC Research Grant.
We want you to keep thinking about plastic. How it’s made from petrochemicals, how it
never ever decomposes, how there’s loads of it all over our lovely planet. And how making
it adds to the greenhouse gas effect and creates pollution. We want you to help us tell
everyone in Coventry about ‘The Age of Plastic’, petrochemicals and climate change. And
that when it comes to plastic we should all reduce, reuse, recycle!
So we thought we could do a big art exhibition in town. And now we need some art… can
you help us?
We are all Artists!
1. Your piece of art should be of the Earth, the UK or Coventry.
2. You need to re-use some old plastic in your art. Like bottles, lids,
wrappers, even old toys, ANYTHING plastic. You can use other things like
cardboard and paper as well.
3. You can use anything you want for more colour. Like paint, crayons, felt
tips etc.
4. It can be 2D or 3D. We love junk modelling.
5. It can be really small like a tiny picture on a bottle lid or quite big. But
please don’t make anything that’s too big for you to pick up.
6. You can add lots of details to your Earth, UK or Coventry, like people and
buildings and animals. Or you can add just a little bit like the countries and
the sea and the mountains. It’s completely up to you!
7. Have lots of fun and involve anybody you want to. Such as Mum, Dad,
Aunty, Grandad but please make the art yourself. This is YOUR art and we
want you to have fun creating it.
8. Your school will pick 4 pieces of art to be exhibited. They need to send us
an image emailed to CoventryCAN. Hopefully they will choose yours!
9. Need more information? Email us on [email protected]
Funding: University of Warwick ESRC Impact Acceleration Account grant ref ES/M500434/1, University of Warwick Global
Governance and Energy Research Priorities, Coventry Central Hall has provided free space for the exhibition.
Printed on 100% recycled paper. © CoventryCAN 2017. All images free from Pixabay & the Toxic Expertise ERC Research Grant.