Cavendish Living Lab runs workshop at St Marylebone School on greener well-being and urban farming

The Cavendish Living Lab is a project involving students from all years and disciplines that focuses on co-creating sustainable solutions. To use applied research and to learn within a real-world setting, the Living Lab approach uses the University of Westminster campus as the laboratory. Through the project, the team are creating an ecosystem where students can bring in their distinctive ideas and work collaboratively with their peers, academics and various other stakeholders to address real word issues such as food waste, plastic waste and wastewater with innovation and creativity. The three main drivers of the project are authentic learning, sustainability and employability.

The St Marylebone School workshop aimed to pass this knowledge on and focused on exploring sustainability through interactive activities that engaged students. The team covered topics such as the three pillars of sustainability, which were social, environmental and economic factors; the food chain system from producer to consumer; food miles; strategies to prevent food waste such as managing leftovers and composting; urban farming; hydroponics and mindful eating.

They held many interactive activities for the students. In the food miles activity, students worked in groups with A3 world maps, decorating them with stickers and pens. They traced the origins of their breakfast foods and calculated the total miles traveled, encouraging reflection on the global journey of their food.

Another hands-on activity involved setting up hydroponics, where students planted their own seeds out of a selection of parsley, rosemary and thyme. The team donated the hydroponic unit to the school, allowing them to continue the project and grow plants.

For mindful eating, students were provided strawberries and led through a gratitude exercise. They reflected on each step of the food chain, from the earth and farmers to the sellers. With their eyes closed, students ate slowly, savouring each bite and fully immersing themselves in the present moment.

Aisha Tahliil, final-year student on the Biological Sciences BSc Honours course and one of the Greener Futures Leaders, said: “Designing and presenting this workshop was a truly enjoyable experience. I love collaborating with my colleagues to come up with creative ways to engage the younger generation, and the students were so kind and intelligent. It was incredibly fulfilling to teach them important concepts of sustainability.”

Elspeth Prowse, final-year Architecture and Environmental Design BSc Honours student, added: “Our Greener Futures outreach has been one of the most gratifying projects I have been a part of. I loved being able to outreach into my local community about subjects that I, as well as my colleagues, are equally passionate about.”

This workshop directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3: Good Health and Wellbeing. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.

Find out more about the Cavendish Living Lab at Westminster.