Youth

Schoolchildren from all over Cumbria have called for local action to ensure sustainable, safe transport and to tackle climate change, at a Youth Climate Summit held on 20 October in Carlisle. The event, supported by CAfS through the Zero Carbon Cumbria programme, explored the theme of Making Change in Your Community: Transport Solutions. The pupils questioned how they could steer climate action in the county. They heard from guest speaker Richard Ingham, Bicycle Mayor of Cumbria, about his mission to convince policy-makers to invest in more infrastructure for cycling in the county, and to grow a culture of cycling [...]

Our Youth Projects Coordinator Ceri recently supported a sustainability week at William Howard school in Brampton. During the week, the pupils took part in workshops and other activities designed to teach about sustainable practises. These included stands on recycling, responsible farming and zero waste shopping. A neighbouring primary school also visited with their students and activities were opened to the wider community after school had finished. Ceri ran a workshop on composting supported by Master Composters. This saw the children making biodegradable newspaper plant pots and writing sustainability pledges. She said: “It was a delight to be part of William [...]

Young Cumbrians aged 11 - 18 are being invited to a free day of activities and workshops in Penrith to talk about climate issues. The event, which takes place on Wed 27 Jul, will provide an opportunity for young people who care about climate change to meet like-minded peers to discuss the environment alongside positive input from a host of organisations. The planned activities will aim to make the young people feel supported, and validate them to make changes in their own lives for the benefit of the planet. A carousel of different events to empower the voices of the [...]

Cumbria County Council has appointed CAfS to work alongside the Cumbria Development Education Centre (CDEC) and The University of Cumbria (UoC), to produce a report to help establish an improved nature curriculum for young people in Cumbria. The study will focus on the provision of place-based learning about the environment and sustainability for schools in Cumbria. It will include learning about the local environment and wider Cumbrian landscape, issues of sustainability, climate change and biodiversity as well as experiences that build appreciation for nature and the environment. Over the next few months, the partnership will be sending a questionnaire [...]

Young people are highly aware of the threat to their futures from climate change yet are rarely able to influence the ‘gatekeepers’ of climate emissions – those decision makers in Cumbria whose strategies and plans can most affect our carbon emissions. To help address this we worked with Shared Future (a local not for profit organisation) to fund and create interactive sessions with youth groups which explored their views on climate change and shared their ideas with people and organisations across Cumbria. In total 62 young people aged from 11 to 19 years took part in the workshop sessions [...]

A few months ago, school pupils in Cumbria penned a new storybook that took on the story of Driggsby, the whale that washed up on a Cumbrian shore in 2014. The young Fin whale was thought to have died due to developmental complications caused by plastic in her mother's milk. In response, the kids produced Driggsby, a whales tale, an illustrated book while learning all about the issues of plastic pollution and participated in beach cleans along the coast from Allonby to Seascale. This remarkable work which led to, as well as the book, an exhibition in Tullie House [...]

As we emerge into a new year, emerging alongside us are many opportunities for engagement with young people on sustainability. Through the brilliant work of our Youth projects Coordinator Ceri, CAfS is looking to place the needs of this generation at the heart of the transition to net zero. We thought we'd give a little update on what sort of things young people can expect in 2022 from us. Work with schools and youth groups The new Greener Schools project has appointed environmental auditors who will shortly begin working with students in 16 primary and secondary schools on Cumbria’s [...]