Children in Southport and Sefton take the fight to climate change

Sefton Council is using day five of COP26 to shine a light on the role of Sefton’s children and young people in the fight against climate change.

Earlier this year, young people in Sefton were involved in raising awareness of climate issues when they took part in the Coasts for Kids project. Working with scientists at Edge Hill University, they produced a series of short, educational videos to teach primary school pupils aged six to eight about the vital role that coasts play in our ecosystem.

Developed in partnership with Sefton Council and Southport Eco Visitor Centre, the Coasts for Kids videos attracted attention from across the world’s international coastal communities.

The series of five videos have been narrated by school children in Sefton and are designed to empower young people to understand the often complex language used in coastal science> The hope is that they will develop a greater awareness and interest in the challenges facing the world’s coastlines from an early age.

Not only are children in Sefton working to educate others about climate change. They now have the chance to learn about air quality and pollution in the Borough.

Schools in Sefton are being offered the chance to join an exciting research programme to understand the levels of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) in our atmosphere.

NO2 is produced by most vehicle exhaust pipes and is measured with monitoring tubes in different locations.

Each school on the AirWatch programme will link up with a member of the Council’s Environmental Protection team and host diffusion tubes to monitor levels of NO2 in their area. They will receive monthly reports as well as educational content and activities to do in class across a wide range of topics.

Darren Lloyd, Resident Teacher and Education Projects Co-ordinator at Southport’s Eco Centre, said:

“We want to equip our young people with the skills and confidence to become educators in their own right. The Coast for Kids series is a fantastic tool to allow both teachers and parents to nurture this. As ambassadors for the future it is paramount that they understand the impact, both negative and positive, we can have on our environment.”

“The AirWatch programme is fantastic opportunity for young people in Sefton to take part in an exciting project with real world results.

“Good air quality is extremely important to the health of people and the planet and this project will help us to identify those areas where improvements need to be made.

“I am thrilled that local schools will be helping us to gather this data, ultimately this is their planet to inherit and we want them to be learn about this crucial issue as soon as possible.”

The Eco Centre is now in its 17th year with over 70,000 children from across the North West receiving hands-on eco education.

Schools can sign up at www.cleanaircrew.co.uk and log into their account.

The Airwatch link in the Teachers’ Area can be used to register interest. This is the same area where schools will find the resources to support this programme.

If Sefton schools are not already signed up to the Clean Air Crew, they can register for free & access a wealth of curriculum resources supporting sustainable education for both classroom & home learning.