At MKCDC we have noticed an increasing interest in the notion of Sustainable Communities. We have therefore designed a series of learning activities, suitable from KS2 and beyond, to allow students to examine this concept themselves.

Defining Sustainable Communities

The Egan Report defined the 8 components that every sustainable community should contain. The report concluded that a sustainable community should be:- active, inclusive and safe, well run, environmentally sensitive, well designed and built, well connected, thriving, well served and fair for everyone. At MKCDC we use these eight criteria as a starting point to evaluate the extent to which different communities in Milton Keynes can be described as sustainable.

Why study Milton Keynes?

Milton Keynes is an excellent case study as it has a history of the inclusion of sustainable features throughout its development. When the master plan for Milton Keynes was published it contained 6 goals to inform the development of the New City. The sixth of these goals was efficient and imaginative use of resources a goal that sought to ensure the best use of financial and natural resources placing sustainability firmly at the birth of this new urban area. The balancing lakes offer the clearest evidence of this early desire for sustainability, a series of man-made lakes that aid flood management in Milton Keynes by working with the natural environment. These lakes have developed additional uses as sites of leisure or homes for wildlife, yet their primary function remains, largely protecting Milton Keynes from the flooding witnessed elsewhere. Over the years other sustainable features have been incorporated into the development of Milton Keynes, such as building techniques and energy conservation.

ecohouse

Milton Keynes also provides a superb case study due to the diversity of communities within its 9000 hectares. For example whilst Milton Keynes is one of the fastest growing economic areas in the UK, containing many affluent areas, it also contains the seventh most deprived area in the south east of England. These areas are within easy reach of each other, making comparative studies simple to achieve within a morning.

Educational Activities

Activities comprise a 45 minute – 1 hour interactive presentation in which we will introduce the concept of sustainable communities. For younger students we concentrate on questions such as ‘what is a community?’ and ‘what makes a place somewhere we would like to live?’ For older students we will introduce some of the more complex aspects of sustainability and by the end of the presentation they will be familiar with the terminology most commonly used with regard to sustainable communities.

The presentation is followed by a 2 hour study tour of Milton Keynes with the opportunity to complete fieldwork. All data collection sheets will be provided by MKCDC, unless otherwise arranged, are differentiated for each age group and can be tailored to meet your particular curriculum requirements.

For an additional cost there is also the opportunity to follow up the morning’s work with an afternoon workshop. This will explore the subject in more detail with students starting to develop their own definitions of sustainability and sustainable communities.

Costs

The costs for a morning session 10am -1pm are:-

KS2 & KS3 Ł4.50 per student

GCSE Ł5.00 per student

A level Ł5.50 per student (Ł90 minimum charge)

Additional afternoon workshop Ł1.50 per student

All accompanying adults are free of charge

Additional Information

Find out more about Sustainable Communities here

Calculate your carbon footprint here

The Director of the Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre is

Henk van Aswegen

e-mail henk@mkcdc.org.uk

Kim Davies

email education@mkcdc.org.uk

The Business Development Manager is

Lynne Dawson

for all inquiries regarding room hire

e-mail:
information@mkcdc.org.uk

tel
+44[0]1908 227229