Poems, planting, protests: Leeds kids show climate commitment at Civic Hall

By Laura Fetherston, Climate Action Leeds volunteer

More than 100 people from 15 local primary schools recently headed to Leeds Civic Hall for a buzzing day of conversation and celebration.

Politicians and charities also turned out for the Climate Schools Eco Conference, which was hosted by Global Learning Leeds (formerly Leeds DEC), CAL's Youth and Education Partner,

The event gave pupils and teachers an opportunity to be inspired by other schools' action on climate change, and to speak to organisations providing resources and support.

Introductory talks on March 28th were given by local MP Alex Sobel, Leeds City Council representative James Rogers, and Professor Paul Chatterton from the University of Leeds. Each provided some background on climate action happening in Leeds, encouraging the students to continue speaking out about building a greener future.

Students then moved between tables, each of which was hosted by an organisation or school, for activities or discussion around climate action. During these sessions teachers were able to attend workshops on topics like creating a climate action plan, and the role of a sustainability lead.

Lily, Ava, and Imogen, from Featherbank Primary School, work on their designs for the day.

West Yorkshire creativity charity IVE led one table, launching their city-wide upcycling competition and providing cards and pens for students to create designs expressing what "sustainability" meant to them.

The competition for school years 4 - 6 will run until May 9th, and students can enter by transforming an old item of clothing and documenting the process through photographs or video.

The winners will receive a £20 voucher and a sustainable goody bag filled with eco-friendly prizes. Runners up will get £5 in vouchers, and anyone who enters will be awarded a sustainability certificate. Entries can be submitted on IVE's website or through a link in their Instagram bio.

During their session with IVE, students from Grimes Dyke Primary spoke about their second-hand clothing stall, where children can exchange old uniforms, and the trees they've planted in the school grounds. One of the pupils, Georgie, talked about how they’ve been using the school garden to make food: "We made apple crumble using the apples from our tree”.

Pudsey's Southroyd Primary School has made remarkable steps in implementing a climate action plan. Deputy Head David Manton attended the workshop about creating a CAL route map, describing it as “really useful to bring together all the different goals”.

Ana, Y4, from Southroyd Primary School, with a photo of the schools past protests

Ana, a Y4 student at Southroyd, talked about an exciting protest her year group was planning for the following Thursday.

An annual event, the students stand outside the school gates in high-vis jackets to protest parking on the double yellow lines. They make signs themselves and Ana said they’ve been focusing on making slogans, such as “Even if you’re late, don’t park at our gates”.

On the topic of the Civic Hall event, Ana said: “Today has been really fun!”

Before lunch, students from Bishop Young Academy performed an inspiring poem they’d written about what they’re doing in their school to make it greener. Later in the day, Carly Wood & Beechwood Primary sang a song on the grand piano about sustainability. These creative performances were a wonderful addition, allowing students to express their feelings about climate action in new and interesting ways.

Bishop Young Academy students recite their poem for the room.

Throughout, students were excited to talk about the new ideas they’d discovered, such as an annual ‘switch-off’ day, rewilding fields, and solar panels.

Feedback from the event suggested it was a fantastic opportunity to share knowledge and experience, and that it highlighted the incredible work being done by schools across Leeds.

You can find out more about Global Learning Leeds' work here.