Dott07 stands for Designs of Our Time 2007, a competition in which Year 8 students have to design solutions to reduce the effect their school has on the environment.



Dott07 stands for Designs of Our Time 2007, a competition in which Year 8 students have to design solutions to reduce the effect their school has on the environment. This could be achieved by reducing the carbon emissions of the school, lowering the amount of water used or setting up recycling systems.

Dott07 selected six core themes inspired by aspects of daily life which can be improved - Health and Well-being, Food and Nutrition, School and Community, Energy and Environment, Sustainable Tourism and Mobility and Access

Only 50 projects have been selected to be developed beyond their initial designs. The time span of the project is one year and it is envisaged that the carbon footprint of each school involved will be reduced as a result of the work carried out by the students. 

Student winners of the competition will receive prizes worth several thousand pounds, teachers will be given travel awards to further explore sustainable communities and projects, the winning schools will be presented with North East ECO Design Challenge awards and everyone will profit from working in more sustainable schools.

Year 8 students from Macmillan Academy entered the competition and started the challenge by completing a number of 24 hr challenges.  The first was the waste challenge, as illustrated here.

Students participating in the Dott07 Challenge Students participating in the Dott07 Challenge
Students participating in the Dott07 Challenge Students participating in the Dott07 Challenge

The three projects that Macmillan undertook include Flower Power wind turbines, through which we hope to generate some of our own energy by harnessing the power of the wind, Kitchen Composting, where we aim to recycle all of our kitchen waste and the last project is to recycle all of our plastic and create a recycled greenhouse!  All three of the Macmillan projects have reached the finals and from now until the end of June designers from Dott07 will be coming into the Academy to assist the students with their designs. 

More information can be found on the Dott07 website.

Dott07 (Designs for our time) is a collaboration between the Design Council and the regional development agency One North East.