Recognises young people or a group of young people who have created a positive environmental impact or who are raising awareness of environmental issues in schools and communities. This could be by showing exceptional dedication to protecting and improving the environment. They may demonstrate a passion for sustainability, conservation, or environmental issues, using their voice and actions to address pressing environmental challenges. This could be through innovative projects, community initiatives, awareness campaigns, or personal efforts to live more sustainably, they inspire others to take action for the planet. This award celebrates their commitment to creating a greener, healthier future and the importance of being a role model for environmental issues.
Winner: Gardening Group
The Year 10- Link School Gardening Group students have transformed an unused space in their school yard into a thriving growing area enjoyed by both wildlife and the school community. This season, they focused on composting, engaging three local cafes to contribute coffee grinds and food waste to their onsite compost bins. The compost was used in 'Growing Packs' as part of their social enterprise model, with poppy seeds harvested from their school garden.
Last year, the group was invited by Social Enterprise Schools to pitch their idea at the North East Dragon's Den Competition, where they won 'Most Environmental Enterprise' and were featured as one of The Big Issue's Social Enterprise Super Heroes.
The young people face daily challenges and often feel out of place in mainstream education. The garden has provided them with a safe alternative learning space to build confidence and skills. They attended gardening and composting workshops at Just Let Your Soul Grow Community Garden and apply their knowledge to grow crops for the school kitchen. This program has allowed them to become gardeners and environmental stewards, contributing positively to their wellbeing and the community.
Highly commended: Eco-Committee
The Eco-Committee at St Benet's Roman Catholic Primary School has made a significant impact this year. Since the start of the academic year, they have achieved the Plastic Clever Schools Award by introducing recycling bins into every classroom. Each week, they collect, sort, and clean the rubbish in preparation for recycling. They also launched a program to encourage sustainable travel to school.
In collaboration with ReFuse Cafe from Chester-Le-Street, the committee focused on reducing food waste. They surveyed the amount of food waste by scraping plates and weighing the waste, then educated the school on its impacts. Their efforts led to a 13% reduction in food waste, rewarding students who contributed to this achievement.
Recently, the Eco-Committee led a staff meeting to educate teachers about climate change and hosted a Climate Friendly Schools meeting with representatives from other schools and the council. They shared their initiatives and progress as an Eco-Committee. The committee's enthusiasm and passion have driven the entire St Benet's community to be more environmentally conscious.
They have now started working towards the Climate Friendly Schools Award and are full of ideas to make the school more climate-friendly.
This award is sponsored by Sunderland City Council's Low Carbon Team
In 2019 Sunderland declared a Climate Emergency. Sunderland City Council's Low Carbon Team has since been working with organisations across the city to reduce carbon emissions and support the city to adapt to the changing climate, in line with Sunderland's ambitions to be Carbon Neutral by 2040.
The city's children and young people are already working hard, in and out of school, to deliver green projects, playing a key role in climate education and climate action within our communities - including sharing information and advice for retrofitting buildings to be more sustainable, encouraging greener transport options, tackling waste and planting trees. We all need to support each other, to ensure Sunderland residents can continue to work together within communities to tackle the global challenge of climate change, ensuring Sunderland continues to be a wonderful place to live, study and work.
