Young Re-inventor of the Year now open

Need ideas for home schooling or a fun activity for the school holidays? 

The 2020 Young Re-inventor of the Year competition is now open and this year the theme is 'Future Food'. 

The annual Switch Your Thinking initiative invites young people to solve problems and put their creativity to the test while challenging them to reuse, repurpose and upcycle before throwing away.

This year's 'Future Food' theme is particularly relevant with Switch Your Thinking asking young re-inventors to consider how the current COVID-19 pandemic is getting us to re-think our relationship with food:

When we self-isolate we can’t run down to the supermarket and when we do there is less food on the shelves. How we grow, eat and dispose of food will need to be very different in the future if we are going to look after our planet.

We now have the opportunity to consider - How can we stretch our precious food further? What new skills can we learn to grow, cook and recycle food in a sustainable (and delicious) way? How can we use our new skills to look after our planet once things go back to normal? 

The challenge this year is to re-invent or create something from waste materials that reflects what sustainable food might look like now and in the future. For example, create a recipe using vegetable scraps or leftovers, make a solar oven, an upcycled worm farm or an ingenious way of storing food. Use waste from home or school to be resourceful and creative.

Enter your re-invention for your chance to win a share in $2,000 worth of sustainability prizes. 

Entries are accepted from individuals, community groups, early learning centres and schools in two categories:

• Early years – Year 6
• Years 7–12

How to enter

• Register your details for resources, ideas and reminders
• Complete your Future Food re-invention
• Submit your entry by Friday 23 October 2020. Your submission should include two photos of your invention along with a brief description (250 words maximum) of who made it and why.

For more information, resources and ideas visit switchyourthinking.com. They will be regularly posting new ideas on Facebook so like the Switch Your Thinking page for updates.  

Switch Your Thinking is a green living Local Government initiative that helps the people of Perth, the business community and Western Australian Councils to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to global efforts to secure a safe climate.

The City of South Perth is a proud supporter of Switch Your Thinking.