The launch of the Green Influencers and Erasmus project within the youth sector of Child Dynamix has escalated the interest of green and nature focussed action amongst the many young people we support. By showcasing their efforts, we have inspired other young people to make positive change in their community through local growing schemes, environmental action such as litter picks, raising awareness through the creation of art murals. The projects have expanded our partnerships, making long term links with YWT - community and marine teams, Shorelines, PATT Foundation, Rewilding Youth, HullCC love your street team, Groundwork, The Deep and Living with Water. 

The charity has proven itself to be a growing hub for urban environmental action whilst also providing opportunities for connecting young people to nature through meaningful experiences and broadening their horizons for a positive future for the young people they support. 

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The success across all 12 Green Influencer groups has enabled us to secure funding to continue this work through the new Blue Influencer Scheme, which will allow us to engage more young people across the city and give youth voice to matters concerning all things water. It has expanded our offering of engagement and inspired more young people across the service to want to get involved and open up about their interest in environmental activities. 

 

SCESY 4th Annual Schools Conference to be held on Feb. 29th 2024 at the Niagara Centre, Sheffield. An oversubscribed event, we have 160 students attending from 20 schools across the South Yorkshire region with several on a waiting list.  The event will be based around facilitated climate conversations using the Climate Fresk model. We have trained up 20 facilitators from across the region. The event will finish with a young person fronting a Q&A with the assembled young people.  The aim of the event is to educate young people about the Climate and Ecological Emergency and to provide them with a sense of agency. After the conference they will take climate action plan ideas, gained from networking together and with visiting climate organisations,  back to their schools to suppor their schools in developing a more climate informed curriculum and in decarbonising at their schools. We also work with University of Sheffield Journalism students to enable two schools in the region to create videos about their climate work. 

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We have a network of over 80 schools receiving our termly newsletter. Our conferences are significantly over-subscribed, showing the growing impact we are having in the region. We are creating a space for students to network and develop their school's Climate Action Plans.

The Young Innovators Council (YIC) is the voice of young people (aged 14-19) at Northern Gas Networks (NGN), entering its 4th year in 2024. Facilitated by Solutions for the Planet (S4TP), the YIC has consistently and passionately argued that net zero and decarbonisation programmes should be at the heart of NGN’s work, especially their outreach and engagement. 

 

NGN has now appointed a dedicated net zero educator who is designing an education programme aimed at young people from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 4, as well as work with university students. Last year the YIC thoughtfully and critically interacted with this key role within NGN to discuss how best to utilise their new strategy.

 

The young people stressed that it’s important for an education programme on the future of energy to explain exactly what net zero is. As this topic still isn’t covered in the curriculum, the YIC emphasised to NGN how vital it is that hydrogen as a future energy option is also explored. Children and adults alike still don’t know about net zero, hydrogen gas or hydrogen as an energy source, and the YIC helped NGN to prioritise the necessary facts in straightforward language and relatable terms.

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The YIC has contributed to NGN’s Energy Futures Education programme, which has developed a range of resources across primary, secondary, post-16 based around games and challenges. These include a carbon footprint calculator that shows communities how their footprint can be reduced and setting challenges, energy trumps, an introduction to net zero, and the science of insulation.

Katie is passionate about encouraging people to care about nature; she commits a lot of time to promoting activism and getting directly involved in protecting nature herself. She took part in Young Voices for Nature, the trailer for which she showed at an event called 'Viva la Revolution' in York in November 23:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHwpiCDBUXc. This was event created by young people for young people, assisted by the youth workers of the Yorkshire North and East District. Katie worked hard preparing the workshop which was entitled 'Be more Greta..?' which encouraged young people to be activists in a way that made sense to them; not everyone can lead a protest, but everyone can do something. Katie encouraged people to be artistic or play games and she also led discussions with confidence.  She is also a vocal part of her Eco Group at school and has given presentation to her peers. She is part of the York Wide Methodist Church Eco Group, who value her contribution enormously. She will soon be leading the group in a talk at St Nicks nature reserve in York, which she spends much of her spare time. 

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​Katie speaks with authority, conviction and passion and those she comes into contact with listen to her. Those people who took part in her workshop came away with food for thought and encouragement to find a way to help the climate that made sense in their own situations and with their own unique talents.

The Prince Henry's Ecommittee have worked tirelessly to promote sustainability within and beyond the school community. They work with external partners such as the University of York on their sustainable food systems 'FixOurFood' work, Otley 2023, Wildlife Friendly Otley and local feeder primary schools to research and collaborate on sustainability with the goal of improving outcomes for the school and local communities. Projects in school include working towards the Eco-Schools Green Flag Award on an annual basis, receiving a distinction in the most recent application round in summer 2023. Promoting public transport and active travel is a large part of their remit; they are also Active Travel Ambassadors and have achieved success with the ATA programme, working with Otley Town Council on their 'Feet First' campaign. They are also playing a leading role in greening the school site following the construction of a 3G all-weather pitch, and are supporting the school's campaign to reduce litter and improve recycling. I am proud of all of this work but most proud of the way they have developed their own leadership of this group and autonomy with their own goal-setting, I really feel they are worthy winners of this prestigious award. 

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​To select a range of impacts: improvement of recycling and use of sustainable materials/energy production around the school site, contributing their youth voice on sustainability matters to the wider community at council meetings, educating younger students about the climate emergency and putting local actions in place to address this.

Climate action is a real passion for Rotherham Youth Cabinet.  It is hard to pick out a single individual as the whole group have inputted into raising awareness, developing learning, and working with Rotherham Borough council to make Rotherham a greener and more carbon aware borough.  That is why I am nominating Rotherham Youth Cabinet for a group award.  RYC have completed three outstanding pieces of work of which they are proud and deserve recognition. The group have designed and implemented ACE awards into Rotherham Schools.  Echoing the Calderdale model, the ACE (Advocates for the Climate and Environment) is a school accreditation award which aims for schools to think about and reduce its negative impact on the planet. Worked with Rotherham Council to shape and implement the councils Climate Action Plan for 2024.  In addition, they created an accessible version of the plan for young people.  Piggy backing on their work with RMBC the group created a Young Peoples Climate Pledge asking their peers to ‘do their bit’ and reduce their own Carbon footprint.  The group worked with Rotherham Council Climate Action team to undertake Carbon Literacy training.  The group are now trained in Carbon Literacy and can deliver the training to their peers. 

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Rotherham Borough Council have listened to young people and their action plan reflects the voice of young people.  Rotherham schools have been able to review their individual impact on the climate and put in place recommendations to make the school more carbon neutral.  More young people in Rotherham are aware of climate change and how they can contribute to Climate Action