The Earth Challenge

The Earth Challenge

I set a challenge to people on the train 'what can you create with these 5 yoghurt pots?'

When I heard the Earth Challenge, I felt little whoop of excitement as this is what I do best: make things from rubbish. I was a plastacarian for a while - meaning I didn't throw away any plastic, as an experiment to see what it was like. It made me completely change my diet - avoiding goods covered in plastic, and appreciate how much plastic our disposable culture creates. I become quite obsessed with plastic, occasionally picking it up off the street. Eventually I was swamped with it and had to stop.

I was travelling home from London on the train, and stuck thinking of ways to creatively tackle this challenge. Then I thought, I am surrounded by the greatest creative source there is: people. So I decided to open out the challenge to others, pulled out 5 recycled yoghurt pots, and asked the old lady sitting next to me: 'What can you make out of these 5 yoghurt pots?'

She was delighted to have been asked, and quickly set to work making an artistic scultpture. I carried on through the rest of the train carriage setting the same challenge to kids, women, old men. The kids were the most imaginative players - Freddie, aged 5 made a Telescope out of them and Maddie, aged 7, built a bridge.

What I learned in the process:

1. Adults love being asked questions that allow them to stretch their imaginations.

2. If in need of inspiration, start a conversation.

3. There are limitless things to be done with 5 recycled yoghurt pots. 

4. Train journeys are a brilliant source of creative brainstorming as they are filled with people with time to kill.

The Videos:

These are the people I met explaining their ideas:

Sandra the knitter had many creative ideas

 

Freddie made a telescope to see the stars

Lucy wanted to make things that looked beautiful