Not Just Hot Air!
St Brendan’s Catholic College to Launch Year Long Environmental Campaign for Schools in the Southwest. Other UK Schools are challenged to join in.
On Thursday, October 4, St Brendan’s Catholic Sixth Form College in Bristol will be launching a momentous environmental audit that will hopefully see a number of schools in and around the city actively pursuing a greener lifestyle. The audit aims to promote environmental awareness regarding building design, purchasing decisions and curriculum.
It is the second event in the Sound of Many Waters’ year of Catholic environmental activism, the first being a celebratory Mass at Clifton Cathedral this Saturday (September 29). The Sound of Many Waters concept was created by inspirational BBC nature producer and Clifton Cathedral parishioner Mary Colwell and the Bath based international charity ARC, with the aim of promoting environmental issues through the voice of the Catholic Church. The campaign comes at the end of a major month of environmental statements by the Pope, unprecedented in the history of the Church.
This launch will take place in the college auditorium where there will be appearances from the presenter of BBC’s television show Coast, Miranda Krestovnikoff, and Bishop Declan Lang of the Clifton Diocese, and Bishop for Environmental Justice. There will also be a number of environmental students from St Brendan’s attending the event as well as student and teacher representatives from a number of schools across Bristol and Bath.
St Brendan’s was an obvious point to launch this process as it is not only a Catholic institution, but it is also a college that regularly promotes environmental messages. This was highlighted by the green credentials of new building work that is currently taking place at the college. Principal Derek Bodey has stated that, “the building has been carefully designed with the environment in mind and will utilise the earths natural resources such as sunlight and rainwater. Also incorporated in the design is an intelligent system to minimise carbon emissions…this new facility will meet the needs of students well in to the future”.
Martin Palmer from ARC added, “The legend of St Brendan is that he set off on a journey in the fifth century not knowing where he was going and discovered the Land of Promise, which some have even named as the mainland of America. He also learned many astonishing details about foreign plants and animals. In the spirit of their own Saint the staff and students of St Brendan's are inviting us today to discover new possibilities and to really see - and help - the wonders of nature that lie all about."
The programme for the event on Thursday begins with guests entering the auditorium to environmentally inspired songs composed by students at St Brendan’s. Bishop Declan and a representative from ARC will open by delivering a schools audit, gifted by Bishop Chris Toohey, Chair of Earthcare Australia. There will then be Mary Colwell’s short film before a talk about the inspirations behind this crusade. Miranda Krestovnikoff will also show clips from Coast before informing students about the background of making that series.
To conclude proceedings, a representative from each school attending will be invited to sign up to the environmental audit, in doing so actively supporting this important event. Crucially, the audit process will result in a website and audit pack which can be downloaded and used by any school in the country, hopefully making the call for a greener lifestyle heard nationally, not just here in Bristol and Bath.
