STUDENTS at Seton College, Mt Gravatt, got a taste of life in the “dark ages” during their participation in Earth Hour.
During Seton’s Earth Hour all computers, lights, laptops, interactive LCD screens and printers were shut down as students and teachers engaged in pre-age-of-electricity activities.
Seton promotion and development manager Julie Whitehouse said Year 8 students’ eyes were opened to life in medieval times when the Living History group plunged them into the Dark Ages by dramatically revealing the perils of a peasant’s life.
“They happily competed in medieval games that bore almost no resemblance whatsoever to Modern Warfare or Battlefield, on the internet,” Ms Whitehouse said.
She said other classes made the most of fine weather to undertake outdoor activities such as feeding the college chickens, recycling food scraps and planting new autumn crops.
“In the art room it wasn’t pitch dark as students got a taste of drawing and painting by candlelight – atmospheric but not as easy as they first thought,” Ms Whitehouse said.
She said students gained some appreciation of the trials and tribulations of the life of an artist before gas or electric lighting.
“Brain power and muscle power replaced modern technology for the afternoon and Seton students thoroughly enjoyed the powerful experience.”
