Teacher
Michelle Fattorini, Head of Year 6 Enrichment, Glendower Prep School
Collaborating with Green Whale Foundation has been an enormous success. Often, children learn about the world from the comfort of their classroom. To gain a better understanding of issues affecting our society, pupils need to get out there and gain first-hand evidence to support their learning. The project that Carolyn has designed enables pupils to do this in a highly effective way.
The ‘Paddle and Pick’ project was an extremely effective approach to helping children understand the extent of the plastic pollution problem. It enabled them to do something practical to help sustain the environment. Not only did they get to use the paddleboard they had made at school, they also managed to collect fifteen bucket loads of waste from London’s canals. The girls were amazed at what they found; everything from shreds of plastic sweet wrappers to whole bathtubs! It gave them first-hand experience of how much waste there is in London’s waterways and how difficult it is to retrieve micro plastics from the surface of the water.
In an era where teachers are constantly challenged to prepare pupils for a fast-changing world, this is as good as it gets in terms of relevant education. ‘This has been my best day at school Ever!’ said XX as she dismounted her paddleboard.
Thank you so much for this fantastic opportunity!
Students
Michelle, aged 11
It was motivating and made us really learn about why need to stop using so much plastic. We all worked together and built up our team spirit. We were allowed to go on the paddleboards and felt proud of how much plastic we found and how we helped our world.
Sisi, Year 6
It really helped me understand how much plastic there was in the canal and made me think of what I could do to help this problem. It was a great experience and was so much fun. I would really recommend this to other schools as it is very fun and educates you.
Maya, Year 6
The Paddle and Pick in the Paddington canal was great for us to work on our teamwork skills and resourcefulness. It was fun and the canal was calm and peaceful but filled with surprising amounts of litter.
Marina, Year 6
Green Whale Foundation made us have an extremely fun and enjoyable and active day. The funnest part for me was the paddleboarding. At first, I thought it was a bit dangerous but then they helped us and taught us everything and my fear went away. It was very surprising what we found and it made all of us very aware. Overall, it was an amazing experience.
Georgie, Year 6
I really enjoyed our Paddle and Pick. It made me realise how much plastic there really is in the world. It was also really fun when we were paddle boarding and I would love to do it again.
Isabel, Year 6
I will never forget the amazing time I had when paddle boarding through the River Thames. At first everyone was frightened and nervous, but after some time we all had a blast helping the environment to be healthier. Luckily it was a brilliant day outside so seeing the magnificent views made it much more enjoyable. 5-star recommendation.
India, aged 10
It was so fun, we got to use out arts and crafts skills to make the paddle boards and then we got to adventure along the river. I thought it was a fun and interactive way of spending time with my friends before I leave the school.
Nadine, Year 6
I had so much fun making and using our plastic paddleboards. I especially loved picking out plastic waste out of the Thames. I had so much fun, I wish I could do it again. I recommend Green Whale Foundation to everyone.
Corporate
Sarah Baker, GB Commercial Operations, Coca Cola Europacific Partners
Just wanted to say thanks to you and your team for a completely brilliant day yesterday. One of my best days at work after 23 years at Coca-Cola. We had a great laugh as a team but also genuinely made a difference, I was very surprised at how much stuff we pulled out of the canal.
Would love to know where all the coconuts came from!
The whole team loved the day and we will definitely be encouraging other CCEP colleagues to get involved.
Thanks again, Sarah