Our changing coastline

"Our Changing Coastline" project with the children of our local primary schools   

The National Trust asked Thriving Wild along with Oops Wow Messy Art to work with children in primary schools on climate change and its impact on Dorset's coasts. We helped the children understand more about the causes and effects of climate change, and share ideas on how to build a better future together. We used art, imaginative ideas and positive messaging to engage the children in safe, fun and empowering ways.  

We worked with two primary schools in the autumn term of 2024, with some sessions based at school, and some at Hive Beach. Through a mixture of creative activities and discussion, the children learnt more about climate change, shared their feelings and concerns about the environment, and explored solutions - and had fun doing so! We told stories, built playful contraptions, and imagined receiving messages from the future. 

What we learned is that it is normal to be worried about climate change - it shows we really care about nature and about people.  And we also learned that because everything in nature is connected, one thing can affect many others, and small actions can add to big changes.  Taking small actions together - with our family, our friends, our school, our community - can be fun, make us feel hopeful, and can inspire others to join in too.  

It's been fantastic working on this project with the National Trust and Oops Wow Messy Art.  And a big thank you to the wonderful students of Burton Bradstock Primary School and Thorners Primary School, Litton Cheney for coming on this learning journey with us. You can watch a video from Burton Bradstock Primary School here.

We're now looking forward to running the workshops with more local schools in September to November 2025.