I went into Storyfest not knowing what to expect but it was absolutely unforgettable. 12 members of Generation Green had the honour of visiting Somerset College to join an event of storytelling, admiring mother nature and increasing sustainability. Despite all of us nearly getting drenched due to the incessant rain, we still were able join in the fun. The very first thing we did once we hopped off the bus was meeting two fantastic bee keepers, Murray and Marina, who told us in detail the importance of bees. We got to taste the honey right out of the bee hive; native bee honey is surprisingly tart.
After this wonderful session, we were all assigned to different jobs to assist Storyfest in being a sustainable event. This included being waste warriors, ensuring that waste was sorted into appropriate bins and mug library helpers, who maintained the washable mugs for Storyfest visitors purchasing hot beverages. (No disposable cups were allowed!) Also, fun fact! In the end, Storyfest was able to divert 92% of their waste out of landfill because of the incredible work of the waste warriors, of which we played a small part.
During our lunch break, we had a bite to eat and I must to say that Storyfest’s food trucks did not disappoint (especially their dip-and-dots ice-cream).
Our final session of the day was a ‘Living Library’ presentation by 3 apiarists, Murray, his wife Megan and Marina, who talked about their passions and how they grew to love bees. My favourite part of the session was a dystopian novel they mentions, where bees are eliminated and humans now have to do their job. Do you think that you would survive? I already know I wouldn’t, but this festival definitely taught our Generation Green students about how important bees actually are for us humans and our environment which was the goal. I would 100% recommend this event it for 2025.
– Tahani Sarwar, Year 10
