The Harrogate Borough Council have been leading on a countywide initiative to encourage schools to teach about and tackle climate change. The initiative aimed to educate the next generation about the consequences of climate change and to support student led environmental projects that reduce the school’s carbon footprint.
All councils in the county supported the Schools’ Climate Change programme, which was funded through the Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership. The initiative comes from the national need to tackle climate change and the results of a study that found that schools within York and North Yorkshire are contributing 70 per cent of the council’s CO2 emissions.
Working with six pilot schools across York and North Yorkshire, the initiative has developed new curriculum resources and activities.
- Bainbridge
- Boroughbridge High
- Harrogate High
- Huntington
- Malton
- St John Fisher
The resources developed have been shared with other schools through a series of training events for teachers across the region.
Young People’s Conference
More than 200 children from York and North Yorkshire have shown overwhelming support for preventing and raising awareness of climate change. Along with 36 teachers, these children attended a Schools’ Climate Change conference entitled ‘Climate Change Exchange’, which was held at Thirsk
Climate Change Competition
To encourage and support schools in implementing practical projects to address climate change, the team secured sponsorship from the Co-operative Membership and Image Playgrounds to launch a competition.
Mowbray School, Settle won the top award of £1,500 for a small wind turbine to power their outdoor classroom and thereby reduce their carbon footprint.
Bedale High School won £750 to create an allotment and grow their own food and Swainby and Potto Primary School won £750 to create a community mosaic on the theme of climate change to raise the awareness in their local community of the need to do something.
Funding for the Schools Climate Change Initiative ended in June 2011, with limited support continuing across the region.