Alongside our Community Assemblies on the Climate we also run an Education Programme, and this has been a very busy time for the children and young people taking part in the programme!
Following a general session about climate change, then a local circuit tour to see some existing climate solutions in each area, they recently took part in an all-day Schools’ Assembly, brining together the primary and secondary pupils.
The first thing the pupils did in the Schools’ Assembly was think about what’s currently very important to them in their local area. The responses were varies and included playgrounds, sports fields, the mountains, shops and much more as you can see below.
The next exercise was to step into a future where we rely less on fossil fuels and protect the natural environment, and to imagine what their local area could look like in this future in the year 2040. Their imaginations took them to all directions and there were some amazing ideas, from a magnetic train, to entire communities travelling on scooters, bikes or on foot, solar panels on every house, people making their own clothes, community gardens and much, much more.
The last activity of the say was to think of ideas for action that could take us from where we are today to their imagined futures. There was no stopping them by this point and they came up with a host of amazing suggestions including a large adventure park for children and young people, setting up an electric bendy bus to ensure free transport for all, reintroducing wild bears to the areas, and creating community-owned energy!
In this video you can hear pupils from Dyffryn Nantlle, Dyffryn Ogwen and Dyffryn Peris talk about some of their ideas on how to create a sustainable future in their local area:
The next step was to share their visions and ideas for action with the members of the local Community Assembly on the Climate. This has alrady happened in Dyffryn Peris, Dyffryn Ogwen and Dyffryn Nantlle and members truly enjoyed and appreciated hearing the ideas, visions and ambitions of the children and young people.
This is what Gwynfor, a member of the Dyffryn Ogwen Community Assembly, had to say after he heard the ideas of the Schools’ Assembly:
“It was great to hear from the young people today, and it was interesting to see how they came at it. It seemed that they weren’t just thinking about how we stop the problem but also how we make the future better for them.”
We look forward to hosting Schools’ Assemblies in Pen Llŷn and Bro Ffestiniog in the new year!