Act Local
What can you do within your local communities?
– Get involved with local youth clubs
Most towns have their own local youth clubs/groups, where young people can earn badges as a reward for their contribution to nature. By joining these clubs, you are widening your understanding of the environment and are able to do fun activities while learning. Overall, an educational experience.
– Supporting local businesses
Local businesses are much more environmentally friendly than supermarkets as there is a lower energy demand transporting goods that are found locally. Local businesses are much more aware of their plastic usage and can cut down it by using less plastic where they can. Since many local businesses are within walking distance you will be cutting down your carbon footprint by not driving to and from the shop.
– Charity Groups
Many local communities have their own charities that target climate related issues. This gives people of all ages the opportunity to get directly involved in their community. One example of this in South Lanarkshire is the organisation Climate Action Strathaven (CAS). They offer a variety of ways to get involved such as E-bike hire and Karshare. This benefits local businesses as it allows them to carry out deliveries without raising their carbon footprint. People may also choose to volunteer, not only does this benefit the local community but it also allows people to gain experience.
What can I do?
– Travelling to School
In the UK, 27% of carbon emissions are from transport. This can be reduced by taking small measures such as walking, cycling or scooting to school, instead of having your parents drive you there. Even if you live far, you can ask to be driven to a reasonable walking distance and continue the journey on foot. Not only are you reducing carbon emissions by taking these alternatives, you are also improving your physical health as these other options are great forms of exercise.
– At Home:
Everything that you use in your home, from hot water to the heating, will emit greenhouse gasses*. Though you cannot see these gasses, they play a major part in contributing towards global warming. An average UK household emits 2.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year (to put into comparison, a car weighs around 1.4 tonnes!)
Saving water will help to save the wildlife that we need to counteract the growing emissions. To do this, you can take shorter showers in place of long baths, and turn off the tap as you brush your teeth. This will help ensure that you are only using the water that you need.
Conserving the energy used around your home will also help to reduce emissions.
Turning off lights in unoccupied rooms is one good way to save energy. You can also close the doors around your house to keep the heat in.
*poisonous gasses that are emitted by the consumption of energy, they trap heat in our Earth’s atmosphere and warms the planet.
Action in School
There are numerous actions that schools can take for all pupils that will benefit the school as well as the larger community.
Change is occurring as a result of more young people demand improvements. There is always an opportunity for fresh ideas and improvements from everyone. You can always begin your advocacy journey to help build a healthier and more sustainable world right in your own classrooms. Anyone can make a difference.
Pupils can help by:
– Using reusable items such as metal bottles, lunch boxes, and tote bags.
– Using public transport instead of individual transport.
– Educating yourself on environmental issues.
Schools can help by:
– Establishing eco-committees.
– Introducing topics related to climate change in the curriculum e.g. showing videos on how we impact the environment, such as using balloons to visualise how much carbon dioxide we release each day.
– Investing in school trips to exhibitions (such as science centres) which help pupils to develop a better understanding of environmental issues.
– Encourage walking, cycling and taking public transport to school.
By Stephanie Anderson, Mikayla Bowles, Lauren Anderson, Suzanne Neilan, Luca Assadi and Lachlan Donaldson
