Project 99: The Earth

The week's project was prompted by the Gaia artwork at Peterborough Cathedral. A huge rotating earth acting as a point of reflection about the fragility of the earth and how we are treating it.

We read and watched a wide range of videos about everything from the position of the earth in the solar system to its structure and climate change (a project touched upon previously in Project 72: The Climate).  Mostly, however, it was a week of practical activities.

The children did a craft project at the cathedral, painting their own globe, and visited again on an evening when it was lit up.

Gaia at Peterborough Cathedral

We also made our own globe at home with a balloon and some papier-mâché. Undoubtedly we are now ready to follow in Drake's footsteps! (See previous Project 94: Sir Francis Drake)

Papier-mâché Earth

Of course you can't do a project on the Earth without trying to improve things a little bit, and we bought Simple Acts to Save Our Planet: 500 Ways to Make a Difference. Unfortunately we are a pretty green family anyway (no car, tumble dryer, and limit the meat), and the book had rather bizarre suggestions (e.g., buy a digital picture frame!), so there's wasn't much room for improvement, but we did at least go on a litter pick.

Litter Picking

We also watched a couple of classic environmental films: WALL-E (2008), and FernGully (1992). At the end of FernGully one of the characters says  "Guys, things have got to change". What's so depressing is that 27 years later, and in a week when the Amazon rainforest burning is in the news, so little has changed. Unfortunately it seems we are likely to have to revisit this topic many, many more times in the future. 

Next week's project: The Middle Ages.