A picture tells a thousand words!

Nichola James, Education Outreach Officer for Size of Wales, explains why children need to be given a voice when it comes to climate change and the COP 26 global summit.

A shocking statistic

Young people care about the planet and worry deeply about the world they are going to inherit. However, did you know that, according to a recent Newsround survey, as many as two thirds feel unheard by adults on climate change? This is both a shocking and worrying statistic!

No child should feel like their voice doesn’t count and this something we can all control. We were determined to do something about this.

Giving children a voice…..

In partnership with Size of Wales, a climate charity that delivers an environmental education programme to schools across Wales, we produced a COP 26 educator’s pack to give children a voice on climate change.

The pack is full of activities that enable children to stand up and be counted when it matters most. Young people can write speeches, create climate change timelines, deliver informative Assemblies on COP 26 and even design picture postcards that paint a vision of the kind of future that children want.

From Primary to Secondary there is something for all ages!

Pontnewydd Primary School – leading the chorus

One of the first schools to offer their children this platform was Pontnewydd Primary School in Cwmbran. Led by their passionate form teacher Laura Vaughan, Year 4 students embraced the activities, designing picture postcards that depicted everything from abundant biodiversity, to reforested rainforests, to a renewables rich Wales.

As David Attenborough says, “Young people – they care. They know that this is the world that they’re going to grow up in”.

Young peoples’ visions are not only appealing, but they are also more than that – they matter.

Thousands of voices at COP 26 …

Through these creative activities we are giving children a voice. We are collecting those voices to create an entire Welsh chorus of young people prepared to speak up, supported by teachers who, on this occasion, really do want to them to shout it loud in class!

We are determined to take those voices to COP 26 so that children can be heard when it matters most. You can download our educators pack at: https://sizeofwales.org.uk/education/education-resources/