Southdale C of E Junior School

THE BRIEF

A mural commission to create an outdoor wall design to help children understand the impacts of global warming and the effects on polar bears in The Arctic Circle.

Above: Vinyl installation promoting the impacts of global warming and the effects on polar bears in The Arctic Circle.

FREDDIE’S BEAR ‘POLAR’

‘Polar’ is a giant bear sculpture dedicated to Freddie McDonald. Freddie was born with liver and heart disease and has been cared for at Leeds Teaching Hospitals since being just a few months old. He is now 13 years old and has gone through several surgeries and procedures, is in good health and under the care of Leeds Hospital.

The 'Polar' sculpture was part of the art trail which took place around Leeds hosted by Leeds Bear Hunt to help raise funds for Leeds Hospital Charity.

After the amazing fundraising efforts by Freddie’s parents; Emma and Phil McDonald to get Freddie's Bear to make it’s home in Ossett, ‘Polar’ is now safely residing at Southdale C of E Junior School, used as an educational resource.

As a result of this, and to help the children at Southdale C of E School understand global warming and climate change topics, we were approached by the school to produce a wall mural to sit behind the ‘Polar’ sculpture.

“WE WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND!!!

It has completely lifted an area of our playground, whilst giving the children a clear environmental message.”

Kerry Partington - Headteacher

HELPING CHILDREN’S MEMORY RETENTION

As the subject matter is so complex we decided to create an infographic design which would allow the students to digest the information easier. We incorporated lots of colour and visual elements to enhance the children’s engagement and motivation to not only learn from the design, but retain the information.

The life sized bear sculpture has a gap in the middle which represents the 12.6% shrinkage rate of the arctic ice due to global warming and climate change. As a result polar bears are facing struggles and it's suspected by 2100 they may face starvation.

As part of our research, we consulted with Yorkshire Wildlife Park, who generously shared valuable insights on polar bears and climate change. This allowed us to extract key facts and figures to feature in the infographic design.

At Seb & Charlie Design, we provide a complete service — from design through to print and installation. For this project, we collaborated closely with Gremedia and managed every stage of the process, ensuring a smooth experience for Southdale School.

“Seb and Charlie design were a fantastic company to work with.

It has completely lifted an area of our playground, whilst giving the children a clear environmental message.