Tag Archives: Block 3 Projects

Tackling fast fashion with the return of the Free Shop

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By Clare Jarmy, Assistant Head (Learning & Development)

When, in September, we walked into what had been the Swap Shop (pictured on the left), I think all our hearts sank. It was a total mess. The shop had closed suddenly at the beginning of the first COVID lockdown, and it was our job to resurrect it.

Understandably, it had become a place where lots of lost property had been put, and amongst donations of clothes, other stuff had crept in: school books; stationery; lost DofE equipment; towels; broken electronics; suitcases. All the ephemerata of boarding life! 

Everyone in Block 3 has worked on this project and on Parents’ Day, we were able to welcome our first visitors to the transformed shop (pictured above, on the right). The Free Shop will continue to run next year, and will be a good opportunity for those doing community service at Bedales. Student volunteers and donations always welcome!

Phoebe Cake: When we started the project, the Free Shop was known as the Swap Shop and it was originally intended for clothing swapping, trading, and possibly buying. We got into the shop and continued cleaning the insides and sorting clothing, and halfway through this process we decided that the shop should be called the Free Shop. We were inspired by hearing of another shop that was coming from a place of generosity and giving rather than swapping. But how do we keep up inventory? We are hoping for donations – but this is only possible with help from the community.

Henry Driver and Noah Huston: Our contribution to the Free Shop was primarily communicating with the Design team, and painting and putting up the shelves. We started off the term by deciding what shelves we were going to be using by collaborating with students from the other group. Then we helped paint the shelves, put up the shelves, and organise the hangers. Design Technician Emile Gailly was a key part of the project. From creating the shelves to helping put them up and re-upholstering furniture for the store, Emile was a needed cog in our very rusty machine. But through all of the ups and downs of the project we came out with a workable shop that would be able provide clothes for the people who needed it.  

Olly Westwood and Guy Cumming: This term in the Free Shop, we have been assembling the shelves in preparation to open in time for Parents’ Day; thanks to Design Technician Emile for helping us put them up in his free time. We fully repainted the shelves, and arranged for the walls to be repainted, too, to give the shop a fresh look.

Aidan Casey: I helped the Free Shop by emailing a member of staff to ask how much funding we would have access to so we could plan what we would do with our first problem – the carpet. As the carpet was stained, we spoke to Facilities who suggested two solutions: clean the carpet to see if that would get rid of the stains, or buy a whole new carpet. We later decide that as it was over our budget to buy a new carpet, we would clean it, and were glad to find that after cleaning the stain was gone.

Tommy Hornsby: I worked with others to talk to Facilities about cleaning the carpet. They did such a great job once it was done, as at the start the carpet had many stains. After the preparations, in the last week we got the clothes into the shop and organised ready for the opening on Parents’ Day.

Paige Winstone: We created an ethical order form to establish whether any items we needed to purchase for the shop were ethical or not. In our form we questioned the ethics of the product so that if we did buy something, we would be able to make sure that the product fit with the Free Shop’s ethics. We had questions like ‘where was it made?’ and ‘who made it?’ We wanted to make sure that we got something that didn’t harm the environment, people, or animals. We couldn’t replace the carpet that was already there, so we decided to buy a rug and put it over top of it. Clare and I started looking for an ethically produced rug. We found one which, although it was from India, it was ethically made by women who were treated well with a good pay. It was also made from old scraps of fabric. It was reasonably priced, so we bought it with some of the £650 funding we received from the Bedales Parents’ Association (BPA). Now it looks great in the Free Shop and brings a lovely pop of colour to the room. 

Jack Laing and Iris Oliver: Throughout the renovation of the Free Shop we painted and put up shelves, cleaned the carpet, bought a new ethical rug, organised clothes and accessories, collected, cleaned and fixed clothes rails, fixed and renovated a shoe bench, and much more. We worked together using our Projects lessons and extra time (a special shoutout to Arthur Searby for his hard work in Badley Times!) along with Clare Jarmy, Matt Meyer and Mungo Winkley, Emile Gailly and the Facilities team to put it all together. 

Jamie Bolton: I helped re-upholster the leather shoe bench, where we had to ask Emile Gailly, Design Tutor Technician, for materials and tools to modernise the bench, but also keep its history there. 

Platon Lesnevskiy: I helped put up all the shelves up and spoke to Facilities to arrange for the carpet to be cleaned. We carried clothing donations from Boys’ Flat to the Free Shop, sorted the clothes and shelved them ready for Parents’ Day.

Aidan Casey: The final job was moving the donated clothing back to the Free Shop from Boys’ Flat and sort them, ready to go onto the shelves. This did take a bit longer than expected as a lot of the stuff was mixed up and we had to find pairing shoes!

Harry Burnell-Nugent: Working on the Free Shop made me think about the bigger picture of the world and the immense importance of today’s issues. Fast fashion is real, it is bad for the environment, and it is affecting how the world is run. We need to stop this and shops like this are the way forward. 

Leggy Vale: My experience with the free shop was mind opening; I learnt some things I would have never been interested in without this experience. We worked together as a team and had some great times. I have got to know many people and have seen what life is like without the true privilege many people at our school experience.

Projects referendum: Should the UK government make a legally-binding commitment to reduce greenhouse emissions to net-zero by 2032?

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By Nick Gregory, Teacher of History & Politics

On Monday 12 December, the Bedales community will once again go to the polls to have their say in the latest Block 3 Projects referendum. This term, the issue on the (digital) ballot paper is climate change, with voters being asked the question: Should the UK government make a legally-binding commitment to reduce greenhouse emissions to net-zero by 2032?

Representatives from both campaigns will be pitching to the voters at whole school assembly in the Quad at 5.30pm on Monday. Voting will open immediately afterwards, from 6pm on Monday  and will remain open until 2pm on Tuesday 13 December.

Taking place exactly three years to the day since the last UK General Election, the vote comes at a particularly important and relevant time – both domestically and globally – in the context of this debate. Just this week, the UK government approved plans for the UK’s first new coal mine for 30 years. Internationally, last month saw the much-hyped COP27 summit take place in Egypt, with governments from across the world keen to show they are making progress on tackling Climate Change; however, COP27 convened against the backdrop of a new global poll that found that concern about climate change is actually shrinking, with fewer than half of those questioned believing it poses a ‘very serious threat’. Here in the UK, however, voters seem to want more action on the environment from their government, with 63% of those surveyed in November saying that the government is not doing enough to tackle climate change.

Our two campaign teams have been working hard – allocating campaign jobs, researching their arguments, and planning their strategy to win over the voters. We challenged representatives from each campaign to put forward their argument to the Saturday Bulletin readers in less than 300 words!

The ‘No to 32’ campaign
By Flora Meyrick, Block 3

The ‘No to 32’ campaign believes that the date specified in the referendum question itself is too restrictive.  
 
Given that much of our economy relies heavily on non-electric vehicles and carbon exports, if we truly wish to become net-zero we should set a more realistic date that is actually achievable, such as 2050, rather than setting – and missing – yet another deadline that we cannot possibly hope to reach.
 
The UK government has already made a legal commitment to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. Our priority should be ensuring that this existing target is actually met, rather than setting a new one that will not be.
 
If we wish to succeed in finding a way to reach net-zero, we also need to find better alternatives to provide energy for our nation. For many, the answer is nuclear; however, nuclear radiation can cause lung cancer as people may inhale radiation particles. We believe that the future lies in hydropower.
 
Hydropower is the cheapest form of renewable energy, and the most obvious choice for an island nation. The government should invest heavily in making progress in this area in order to reach its 2050 target.
 
Clearly, 2032 – now just a decade away – is too soon to get our country to net-zero in any kind of practical or affordable way. However, finding a renewable source to slowly make the switch from carbon to hydropower by 2050 is the sensible, affordable and achievable route to making the UK net-zero.
 
Vote ‘No to 32’ to help our country.
 

The ‘Zero Now’ campaign
By Emily Cullen and Lily Maughan, Block 3

The ‘Zero-Now’ campaign believes that unless we start reducing greenhouse emissions immediately, then climate change – with all its damaging effects – will be irreversible. The UK government should make a legally-binding commitment to become a net-zero nation by 2032. The earlier we start, the more time we have left.  
 
10 years may seem too soon, but the UK needs to set an example. It was the first country in the world to create a legally-binding national commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions via the Climate Change Act of 2008. This gives us a powerful voice and influence with the rest of the world. A reduction in greenhouse gases simply must happen very soon, and a legally-binding agreement commits both government and businesses to this aim, which makes progress much more likely.
 
Some key policies to reach this target include:

  • Funding more electric vehicle charging stations, and converting them to be sustainably powered (e.g. solar panelled)
  • Identifying, prioritising and adapting government investments in infrastructure and innovating technology to address climate change risks effectively
  • Assist businesses and large emitters in transitioning to being carbon neutral
  • Financial incentives for improved water and wastewater management
  • Construction of new sustainable power stations around the UK, made by carbon neutral companies

These are some of the many ways we can reach net-zero by 2032. Achieving net-zero urgently is vital, as it’s the best way we can tackle climate change and reduce global warming. What we do in the next decade to limit emissions will be critical to our future, and currently our target of 2050 is too far off. If we want future generations to thrive then we must act now.
 
Do it now; we must be Zero-Now.