Build the Change Tuesday:

Build for Birds Live Lesson

Hosted in partnership with the LEGO Group, our Build for Birds live lesson will help your 7-14-year-old students understand how they can make schools into safer homes and spaces for our feathered friends to rest, feed and shelter in!

What to expect!

UK bird species are in decline because of habitat loss. That’s where Build for Birds comes in! In this lesson we want to empower students to help make their schools into safer homes and spaces for our feathered friends to rest, feed and shelter in.

Join us on Tuesday, January 23rd, for a FREE live lesson which will:

• Teach your class all about bird species and biodiversity.
• Introduce them to environmental careers.
• Improve their creative problem-solving skills.

The best bit is you won’t even have to lift a finger or plan a single thing! 

Our interactive online lesson will explore why birds are under threat, inspire your class to design innovative solutions to help our feathered friends and feature fun quizzes and activities.

This lesson will be filled with opportunities to learn through play and filled with interactive games and quizzes. This lesson is perfect for ages 7-14 and supports PSHE, science, maths and design and technology curricula. 

Are you ready to unleash your creativity and design a wild city building for the future? 

We want you to reimagine a building or area in a city that is special to you and make it work better for future generations of both humans and nature!

Here’s what you need to do to enter the competition:

1. Choose a building or area in a city that is special to you and research all the animals, plants, insects and birds that can be found there. 
2. Decide how you want to redesign your building. Consider how your design can serve both the local wildlife and the people. How can your building help enhance the environment and make a positive impact? Keep in mind the importance of balancing the needs of both humans and nature!
3. Now, either draw your building or use LEGO bricks or bits of recycling to build it. Get creative and let your imagination run wild!
4. Take a photo of your design and, if you want to, write a short description of your building’s features (maximum 250 words). You can use the questions on the Competition Entry Pack Worksheet to help you write your description.
5. Get your grown-up to upload your photo (and written description if you did one) via *this link. Your grown-up will need to create a free account on the submission platform and include your name, age and school details. Some guidance on using the online submission platform can be found here.

Click HERE to download your competition entry pack worksheet. | Click HERE to download your competition guidelines.

*If this link is not working, please copy and paste the following into your browser: https://theday.awardsplatform.com/

The winning building designs will:

• Work for local people. Cities are buzzing with activity, and every building in them serves a unique function. Hospitals, schools, libraries, workplaces, theatres, cinemas, museums, transportation hubs, churches, and tourist attractions, are just a few examples! When designing a building, it’s important to consider how it can improve the lives of its users in some way.
• Work for local nature. What wildlife lives in the city? What new species would you like to attract there? Think about how you can design the perfect habitat for local animals, plants, birds, and insects.
• Be good for the planet. As urban areas continue to grow, it’s important that we prioritise sustainability and make these spaces as green as possible. For example, how might we power cities using solar panels or other renewable energy sources? And what steps can be taken to ensure buildings can withstand extreme weather events, droughts and floods?

Don’t forget to read News Detectives: Build the Change every Tuesday throughout October for inspiration and real-life examples of buildings that work for people, nature and the planet. 

So what are you waiting for? Let’s create a wild city building for the future!

For the competition’s terms & conditions, please click here.

Meet our experts!

Access our News Detectives: Build the Change articles for even more sustainability inspiration!

Build the Change Tuesday is our free, weekly sustainability resource for 7 – 14-year-olds, designed for busy teachers looking for a quick, preparation-free activity. 

This sustainability resource created in partnership with the LEGO Group®, and The Day allows students to think critically about, discuss and debate a new sustainability issue every single week. It’s ideal for settling students into the day, and developing reading, comprehension and discussion skills. 

Click here to register for this FREE weekly resource.

Build the Change Tuesday is a sustainability resource brought to you by The Day and the LEGO Group®, which forms part of our News Detectives programme, a no-fuss daily dip into the news for ages 8 – 13. A different theme every day of the week.