Inspirational guest speakers visit Alton College on great big green week

Guest speakers from Alton Climate Action & Network (ACAN) and Alton Natural History Society recently visited Alton College as part of the Great Big Green Week – a week to celebrate community action to combat climate change and protect nature.

ACAN’s Chair Jenny Griffiths and Alton Natural History Society’s Chair Cathy Wilson presented to two groups of eager A Level Environmental Science students to discuss a range of topics including sustainability, community green spaces for wildlife, seeking protection for rare species, and hedge planting among many other important topics.

Both speakers were extremely keen to inspire the younger generation whilst explaining how they can engage with charitable work which is not only an extremely advantageous life skill but is also great for personal development. Environmental Science is also an extremely competitive subject at many universities and therefore undertaking volunteer work for organisations such as ACAN could significantly enhance a UCAS application.

Jenny also went on to discuss the Young ACAN group which has a network of young ACAN Ambassadors who meet frequently.

Amongst this, both Jenny and Cathy did also explain some of the issues they face with rewilding public spaces due to a range of factors including licenses with local authorities and volunteer commitment. This gave students a deeper understanding of some key factors which relate to their studies and their summer conservation projects.

Cathy Wilson added:

“We are really keen to inspire and encourage students in relation to nature, biodiversity challenges, and how to address this locally and nationally. We also hope some students will pursue this further in the future.

We are very excited to work with Alton College and other local colleges as this a great way to join up action and work together.”

Jenny Griffiths said:

“Coming in to speak with students is an important part of engagement and we are really keen to continue to partner with Alton College and the local community.

This has been a great opportunity to engage with young people and we are very thankful for Alton College for reaching out and giving us the opportunity to come in to present.”