GLT staff meet Chris Packham
EHCP staff ran a stall at the Suffolk Youth Climate Conference on July 3rd, including a fascinating visit from television personality and autism campaigner Chris Packham.
EHCP staff ran a stall at the Suffolk Youth Climate Conference on July 3rd, including a fascinating visit from television personality and autism campaigner Chris Packham.
Around 100 young people engaged in our ‘identify the skull’ game, wood cookie decoration and Hapa Zome (leaf printing using a hammer). Thanks to the leaf printing we were one of the most popular stalls and definitely the noisiest!
Other stallholders at the Suffolk One Sixth Form College event included Greenpeace, Suffolk Mind, the Environment Agency, Coastal Partnership East, Hope for the Future, Neptune’s Pirates and Friends of the Earth.
The highlight for our staff was a visit from BBC presenter and activist Chris Packham, who was guest speaker on the day.
He talked to staff about neuro divergence and its impact on his education and wider life, and how the woodlands felt like home because his hyper fixations could exist there.
Chris also explained his experience in mainstream education when the teachers would set a task and he then struggled with having to stop when the bell rang.
He loved that GLT provides a safe space for young people with autism to work with their hyper fixations, giving them the space and time to complete whatever they started – and that we view this hyper fixation as a strength.
When he expressed an interest in our skull game, explaining he has his own collection, we were able to teach him a new skill for cleaning found skulls – using a pineapple!
The day also featured sessions on biodiversity, activism, the climate emergency in Suffolk, eco-anxiety and how to talk about climate change.
