This term, our Year 10 class has been working on a sustainability unit. We have each researched different sustainability issues in Humanities.

This project is cross-curricular which means it crosses over different subjects. In a group, we will conduct a Science experiment based on our Sustainability topic, while making a documentary of the process and our sustainability message for English. Last week, we were fortunate enough to be able to listen to two speakers in Humanities from the University of Otago; Professor Frank Griffin and Doctor Kaitlyn Martin. 

Professor Frank Griffin, from the Microbiology department, spoke to us about his experience in researching sustainability in agriculture and food production. We learned a lot about the unsustainable way food is produced and used in society today, helping those of us with agricultural topics. His advice for us as we did our research was to look at the big issues, but find lots of little solutions - because lots of ordinary things combined becomes extraordinary! 

 Dr. Kaitlyn Martin, a PhD candidate in Science Communication, gave us tips on what to include in our documentaries and how to make them appeal to the audience. She talked to us in groups about our chosen topics, guiding us in how we can communicate our information and tell a story that connects with people through our documentaries. 

These speakers passed on some very useful knowledge and inspired us all to make a change. “If you can make a little gesture towards that big [problem], it’s all been worth it.”