London Sixth Formers Go Green at City Hall.
Over 150 students from 40 schools and colleges launch the School and College London Students Go Green Week
Nicky Gavron addresses delegates Go Green Week London Schools and Colleges Conference
On Friday 15 February the sixth form London Students Go Green Week was launched in spectacular fashion with over 150 students from 40 London schools and colleges attending a climate change conference at City Hall. London-wide Students’ Go Green Week, taking place from 18-22 February 2008 is a unique collaboration between the Mayor of London and the People & Planet network which has led to the organising of the first London-wide environment week to promote positive action on climate change.
Students not only learnt about action at the individual level but also the institutional level. Students learnt of the huge impact that schools and colleges have on the climate. Most importantly they learnt how to campaign to improve their own institution’s environmental performance through People & Planet’s interactive Go Green action planning workshops.
Delegates at the conference
After being welcomed and having lunch students took their positions in the main chamber of City Hall, where Deputy Mayor Nicky Gavron started things off with a speech on the threat climate change poses and what we need to do to avert it. This was followed by a speech by Alex Wood, People & Planet’s Go Green Campaigner, which contextualised People & Planet’s Go Green Campaign and explained how it aimed to transform the education sector. Schools alone are currently responsible for 15% of all public sector emissions.
Students then broke into groups for People & Planet introductory workshops on climate change. This workshop looked at the devastating impacts of climate change, particularly on the world’s poorest and most vulnerable. The different man-made causes of climate change were covered, as well as inspiring students to take positive action to avert climate chaos. The students ended this session by envisioning and drawing what their perfect green school or college would look like.
After a short break students took part in People & Planet workshops on Go Green. This exciting workshop was structured around DCFS’ Sustainable Schools guidelines, aiming to reduce the carbon footprint of schools and colleges. The students practised strategically and creatively planning their campaign for a low-carbon school or college, including deciding on aims, objectives and tactics for creating a green school or college.
James Lloyd addresses Go Green Week London School and College Conference
The Conference was then closed with an inspiring speech by People & Planet head of campaigns James Lloyd, who passionately explained why student activism is so important and why students need to put into practice what they had learnt at the conference.