Child Friendly Warwickshire

Here in Warwickshire and Coventry, we are dedicated to working together to take action and find solutions to overcome the threat of climate change – and we know a lot of children and young people are wanting to do the same.

And so, Warwickshire County Council have organised the Young Green Shoots competition, so youngsters have their voices heard and become advocates in fighting the climate crisis (plus they get a chance to win £2,500 for their school)!

The competition is open to any young person aged from 4 through to 19 who are in full-time education and live or go to school within Coventry or Warwickshire. All they have to do is answer one simple question, which is:

What does being a climate hero mean to you?

Climate heroes do both big and small things, from planting a huge forest to turning off the lights when they aren’t needed. Anyone can be a climate hero – it could be somebody famous, a government, a business leader, a local council, or it could even be you! Show or tell us how your hero will protect the environment and fight climate change.

Submissions can either be a short piece of writing or a drawing by the deadline of 18 February. For all details on further detail on how to submit, please visit https://www.childfriendlywarwickshire.co.uk/.

One winner from each of the four age categories will win £2,500 in funding from Warwickshire County Council’s Green Shoots Community Fund for their school or college to spend on climate change related projects. This could be something like planting trees or establishing wildflower gardens to increase biodiversity, encouraging their pupils to switch to walking or cycling to school, installing renewable energy options in their buildings or even installing electrical vehicle charging points.

The winners and runners-up in each category will also have their work showcased at the forthcoming Coventry & Warwickshire Climate Change Summit, to be held at the University of Warwick in March. This event will bring together the key public sector organisations from across Coventry & Warwickshire, alongside representatives from the private, voluntary and community sectors, to declare a united commitment to fight climate change and to further develop and align the plans to reach net zero by 2050 or sooner.

This competition is part of our commitment to creating a Child Friendly Warwickshire, so we want to inspire children and young people to get creative and take action, supported by their schools, parents, carers and communities of course, and create lasting and positive change for their futures. Therefore, if you think you might know the next budding Greta Thunberg, let them know about Young Green Shoots.

Get involved: https://www.childfriendlywarwickshire.co.uk/get-involved/young-green-shoots