Pupils joined up their efforts by taking part in COP27 themed conference and pledged to take action to protect the environment
Following on from the success of last year’s schools conference held in conjunction with the Conference of Partners 26 (COP26), schools from across the globe gathered online once again to share their knowledge around climate change.
Over 100 schools took part in the conference, connecting our county’s schools with those in France, Spain, Italy, Costa Rica, Romania, India, Hungary, and the place of this year’s COP27 summit Egypt, led by staff from the charity OASES.
Pupils shared what they’d learned about climate change. They discussed how climate change impacts certain habitats and ecosystems in their country, and submitted challenging questions which were answered by the expert panel consisting of experts Durham University and the council.
Teachers also got involved and enjoyed the conference. One teacher from one of the participating Indian schools said, “Our students have learned a lot and have taken initiatives, the benefits of which are embedded in them for life”. Students all showed their interest in the topic, telling the group about their concerns for the future and the steps they are taking to make a difference.
Al Ahram Language School, from Egypt also shared what they had been doing within their school.
The school has described themselves as a climate-friendly school that works in favour of sustainable development. Within their lessons, they are taught the importance of eating healthy foods, instead of junk foods, and their small school cafeteria supports this by serving healthier alternatives. In addition to this, the school has also reduced their plastic waste by changing to paper appliances and products in replacement. They are taught the importance of recycling to support this.
The children and staff together work hard to reduce their carbon footprint. They encourage small acts, like having sticker charts by light switches to encourage people to turn lights off where not in use. Also, a daily end-of-day task is to unplug all computers, monitors, and screens to avoid any energy waste.
The school also has eco-representatives for each classroom, these children are given the responsibility of representing their class. The eco-reps are there to encourage their classmates to be more aware of sustainable development. They arrange daily tasks and activities to help the planet. The eco-reps also are responsible for planting trees and plants on school grounds to maintain healthy soil and air humidity.
The school displays plenty of posters and flyers all handmade by the classmates, the posters have hundreds of different top tips on how to save water, electricity, energy and in general be more environmentally friendly. There are also flyers highlighting the school’s everyday steps, for example turning the tap off when they apply soap and watering the plants at a certain point of the day to ensure as much water is saved as possible.
All schools made pledges during the conference, with some of them mentioned below
- Lumley Junior School, County Durham “We pledge to ensure we turn lights off when we’re not using them, or don’t need to use them.”
- Futures Hurghada Language School, Egypt said “Our school is by the Red Sea so we pledge to do all the effort needed to save the sea life and the sea creatures from the effects of the Climate Change”
- And a few pupils from Jamnabai Narsee School in India made their own individual pledges: “I pledge to plant a tree every year on my birthday” “I pledge to take shorter showers to save energy”
The conference taught us all a lot about climate change, but it also conveyed the message that young people want to and must be involved in making a difference. These conferences are equally as important for young people as they are for world leaders and adults, and together we can all make a difference.
For more information and to watch recordings of the sessions visit the ECO2 Smart Schools website
