Our Level 3 Product & Craft students recently had the opportunity to undertake an exciting new project with a live client.
Amy from Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust set them a live brief, which focused on designing a collection of innovative urban wildlife habitats that help wildlife thrive in city spaces.
This project challenged students to develop creative and sustainable solutions that combine modern design with environmental consciousness, exploring habitats for species such as squirrels, frogs, hedgehogs, birds and bees.
The project seeks to address the plight of urban wildlife by fostering biodiversity and creating habitats for threatened species within the limited confines of urban spaces. This will bridge the gap between humanity and the natural world whilst serving as a testament to the power of conscious and modern design in the most unexpected of places.
Our students spent several weeks researching different species, initiating ideas, developing concepts and testing their solutions to prepare them for presenting their final outcomes to Amy. Each student spoke confidently about their process and how they came to their final design. Not only did this project advance their crafting skills, it also helped to improve their communication skills and working to the needs of a client.
Congratulations to Zack, whose winning design focused on creating a decomposable frog habitat. Zack later articulated how he found taking part in the project – ‘I found the project interestingly challenging and felt it necessary to include more than one feature. I was excited to work with the Trust to help raise awareness of the natural world.’
Amy from Herts Wildlife Trust also shared her thoughts on setting the brief to our students – ‘I was truly impressed by the incredible amount of time, effort and creativity the students invested in this project. Their research was outstanding, and the final pieces showcased an amazing diversity of ideas and exceptional quality—making it nearly impossible to choose a single winner! Many of the runners-up were equally deserving of recognition for their innovation and determination. It was inspiring to see how students overcame challenges throughout the planning and production stages and spoke confidently and passionately about their work. Being part of this project was an absolute privilege.’
Well done to all our students for their hard work, creativity and commitment to sustainability and thank you to Amy for setting this brief for our students!
If you are interested in studying Product & Craft and the possibility of taking part in projects like this, please click here to view the course information.
