Children and young people from across the district have been taking part in a festival focussing on climate.
Over twenty primary and secondary schools from across Kirklees joined two events, that took place last week, at Kirklees College, Huddersfield and Al-Hikmah Centre, Batley for a day of climate focussed workshops.
The last festival took place online in early 2021, and due to its success was run again, this time in person!
What were the aims of the festival?
The Young People’s Climate Festival; Our Climate Our Voice, provides younger generations with a dedicated space for discussion, provoking conversations, idea sharing and actions focussing on climate.
Pupils had the opportunity to take part in workshops about recycling provided by Kirklees Council’s Recycling Team and the principles and possibilities of reusing items, ran by local organisation fairandfunky. Pupils also discussed their current and future climate actions.
This festival provided a chance for schools to network and find out what their peers are doing to address the climate emergency, with the potential to share resources as well as ideas. There were also a number of themed stalls with organisations such as School Uniform Exchange represented.
The Mayor of Kirklees, Councillor Mashood Ahmed, attended the Kirklees College event welcoming schools to the afternoon session following their lunch.
Young people at The Al-Hikmah event received a surprise visit from Kim Leadbeater MP who took part in the discussion and gave a closing address.
Our Energy and Climate Change Team will also be contacting and encouraging all schools in Kirklees to register as an Eco School.
The programme, run by Keep Britain Tidy, provides steps and topics for schools to work through on their eco journeys to achieve the prestigious Green Flag Award.
Councillor Will Simpson, Cabinet Member for Culture and Greener Kirklees said:
“I was delighted to be a part of the Youth Festival and see so many schools actively engaging in our Young People’s Climate Festival.
“It is crucial that we engage with our young people, particularly over climate change, and that their voices are heard.
“If we are going to fulfil our shared commitment on the climate emergency we need everyone to work together, and I am incredibly grateful to all of the young people who took part today to play their part in building a fairer, greener future.
Councillor Carole Pattison, Cabinet Member for Learning, Aspiration and Communities, said:
“We’re excited to have hosted our first face to face Climate Festival, it’s another great opportunity to have open discussions with our children and young people.
“We hope the programme of workshops engaged those taking part, prompting further conversation which lead to action. The web resource which complements the festival remains accessible to all enabling further discussions with wider groups of young people and helping to build momentum.”
Thanks to Kirklees College for providing the venue for free.