Hackney students take to the catwalk

Students striking a pose

Pupils from schools in the borough including Stoke Newington High School, Horizon School and Hackney Free and Parochial Secondary School strutted their stuff at the newly refurbished Stoke Newington Town Hall on Thursday evening (2nd December).

Showing designs they had made entirely out of recycled material, thanks to the Hackney Re-Made project organised by the fashion recycling charity TRAID, The Learning Trust and London Borough of Hackney.

The show was part of  the second annual Green Heroes awards, which recognises the work of pupils, their families, teachers and school staff to green up Hackney’s schools.

There were fourteen overall ‘Green Hero’ winners plus two eco-teams and 24 specially commended individuals. Their green acts ranged from switching off lights in classrooms, producing vegetables to be used in the school kitchen, tending school gardens and building a wind turbine from scratch.

Winners included teacher Ayesha Usmani from Clapton Girls’ Technology College, a team of ‘eco-warriors’ from Jubilee Primary School and gardener Ben Hooke from Parkwood Primary School.

Winner of primary pupil Green Hero award, eight-year-old Queensbridge pupil Imogen Hathaway

The winner of primary pupil Green Hero award, eight-year-old Queensbridge pupil Imogen Hathaway, was praised for never missing a day of watering the school beds and hanging baskets, feeding the tadpoles and tending to the pond.

She said: “I was very excited to win this award. I really enjoy working outside and being green and I have learnt lots of things about the garden. My favourite thing was growing potatoes and tomatoes which we used in our salad bowls.”

Guests at the awards ceremony also heard from Amy Fleuriot, Hackney resident and founder of Cyclodelic, a fashion range for female cyclists. She said: “Everyone can improve their lifestyle by becoming greener and reap the rewards. Whether it’s swapping some of your regular journeys by bus or car to a bicycle and arriving at work feeling more refreshed and seeing your personal fitness level soar or simply making sure any unnecessary lights are turned off.”

“Being green is easy fun and for most of us it’s about all the little changes that can fit easily into your existing lifestyle.”

Rob Sambrooks, Sustainable Schools Officer at The Learning Trust, said:

“I’m delighted to be able to shine a light on the Green Heroes of Hackney Schools. These are the people who are actively leading the way to a greener, more sustainable future by reducing their school’s carbon footprint and cutting down on waste. Our green heroes show that no matter what you’re role in school, you can make a real difference.”

Lyla Patel, Head of Education at TRAID, said: “In the run up to the awards, we’ve been working with schools in Hackney to shrink their fashion footprint by up-cycling unwanted textiles into beautiful one-off pieces.  Young people are the best and most enthusiastic advocates of living more sustainably and it’s fantastic to see their ethically fashioned creations on the catwalk.”

Green girl in red

Want to see more photo’s of the show? http://tinyurl.com/2vr7jvu