Sunderland children lead the way in reducing carbon emissions at Climate Friendly Conference

Children from across the city have been hosting their own climate change conference at City Hall.

School children of today are set to be the generation most affected by our changing climate and more than 100 pupils from the city’s primary and secondary schools gathered as part of the Sunderland Climate Friendly Schools’ Conference.

Since being launched in 2022, the initiative has seen some of the city’s schools take part in a range of climate friendly projects including growing their own food, planting trees, waking and cycling to school, saving energy and recycling school uniforms.

Two of the schools to take part were Seaburn Dene Primary School and Albany Village Primary School in Washington.

Stephen Jones, headteacher at Albany Village Primary School, said: “It was great for some of our pupils to attend the conference with Mrs Harrison, our lead teacher for outdoor education, and myself, so that we could share our experiences.

“The pupils, members of our Eco Council, had developed a PowerPoint to share with delegates and were excited to share our successes and future plans to an audience of like-minded pupils and adults.

“They were also encouraged to pick up ideas from other schools to bring back and discuss for year three of the programme.

“As a headteacher, it is so encouraging to see our young people motivated to this degree.

“I feel confident that, as they develop even greater understanding of sustainability and the impact of people upon the environment that they will ensure mistakes of the past are not repeated and the earth is going to be in safe hands for future generations.”

Seaburn Dene pupil Anya added: “Being part of the Climate Friendly Schools’ Conference was an amazing experience because everyone got to see what other kids get up to in their schools to be environmentally friendly.”

The programme was delivered by Outdoor and Sustainability Education Specialists (OASES) and led by Sunderland City Council to “improve environmental literacy and enable schools to take action to tackle climate change”.

Joanne Appleby, chief executive officer of OASES, said: "It is now more important than ever that good quality, accurate climate change teaching occurs in schools, and that there is appropriate support available for young people to consider and air their climate concerns.

“Climate Friendly Schools is helping whole-school communities in Sunderland rise to this challenge.

“We hope the young people involved will be empowered and enabled to take positive climate action to build a better future for all." 

Peter McIntyre, executive director of city development at Sunderland City Council, added: “It was fantastic that so many young people joined the event and that children of all ages were so enthused by the activities and talks they participated in.

“Engaging young people from an early age is one of the key objectives of our Low Carbon Framework, which outlines our ambition to be a carbon neutral city by 2040, and projects like this are a great example of how we are continuing to do just that.”

Sandhill View Academy, St Aidan's Catholic Academy, Harry Watts Academy, Ryhope Junior School and St Benet's RC Primary School have also developed a five lesson sequence of plans and resources focused around Sunderland’s journey to become carbon neutral.

The resources include two trail routes through the city highlighting the local history and the transition to a lower carbon future.

St Benet’s RC Primary School teacher Richard Merrington said: “The Sunderland Climate Friendly Conference was a really educational and engaging day for staff and pupils alike.

“We all learned a lot from the brilliant key speakers and the children really enjoyed the activities provided for the day.

“We will definitely be attending again in the future.”

Guest speakers included Professor Chris Stokes from Durham University and leading education leadership consultant, Dr David Dixon.