Resources

A fun new Green Schools app for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch has been launched by The Co-operative Group.

The Fair Traders Co-operative has produced a number of Fair Trade resource packs for schools, colleges, academies and Young Co-operatives, which can be used to support enterprise projects, Fair Trade teaching or fund raising events.

The latest edition to the range of schools packs, which also includes stationery, pamper, fun stuff and fashion kits, is the Recycled Pack, a collection of recycled treasure!

A new paper by Sally Hartley, researcher with the Co-operative College and Open University, has been published on youth co-operatives in Uganda and Lesoth – including Kigayaza Youth Co-operative and JoyFod SACCO (Uganda) and Subeng Dinosaur Co-operative and Rise and Shine Co-operative (Lesotho), who have featured as case studies on the International Links pages of the Resources section of the Young Co-operatives website.

Find out more about the differences between co-operatives and private sector businesses, and get inspiration to start you own co-operative enterprise, in a colourful and lively resource produced by the Ontario Co-operative Association.

Find out more about how citizens are becoming involved in democracy in Ghana – including through the country’s biggest co-operative, Kuapa Kokoo, which has 64,000 members across the country.

Have you ever thought about setting up a food co-operative in your school? This inspirational video shows the benefits of setting up a food co-operative – “an easy and inexpensive way of getting great tasting fruit and vegetables into your school”.

The Co-operative College is pleased to announce it has added the Co-operative Citizenship Award to the range of programmes it offers in conjunction with the awarding body ASDAN.

Any Young Co-operatives using the Greenfingers resource might be interested in Sow the seed, an Oxfam project which uses the experience of growing a plant to get students to empathise with agricultural producers growing crops in other parts of the world. Students are encouraged to grow plants as: a sustainable action that all young people can take; a symbolic gesture of support for farmers in the developing world; a tool to take action on an issue which matters to them; raise awareness about climate change; and think creatively about how this message can be sent to political leaders.

Over the past twenty years Fair Trade has grown into a worldwide movement, with the FAIRTRADE Mark recognised by over seventy per cent of adults in the UK. It’s a familiar presence not just on the high street but also in towns, schools, churches, synagogues, mosques, town halls, universities, and even prisons across the country which have opted to convert to Fair Trade. It has been helped along the way by the actions of individuals, business, charities and NGOs.

From Farm to Fork allows primary school students to experience the world beyond the classroom and improve their understanding of where their food comes from and how it is grown through a supervised farm visit.