Young People Lay Foundations for a Greener Future
Environmentally conscious young people from South Tyneside are doing their bit to look after the planet.
The Borough's Young People's Parliament has chosen climate change as their campaign this year and have come together to make eco-bricks out of a mountain of plastic.
The eco-bricks will be donated to Williby Roc's Community Interest Company which provides eco arts and crafts for children, adults and families. The bricks made by the Young People's Parliament will be the last donation to the project which will convert the bricks into planters.
Katie Harte from the Young People's Parliament said: "The workshop gave us a fascinating insight into how waste can be transformed into a useful resource.
"By focusing our campaign on climate change, we want to change attitudes and help more people to understand how their actions impact on our plant. Instead of throwing away our waste we want to show people that there are other ways of recycling it which can help not only the planet, but our communities as well."
The workshop is just one of a range of initiatives the Young People's Parliament has done to raise awareness of climate change. They have also created a video to help people understand which items can be recycled in the blue recycling bins and took part in a litter pick at Sandhaven. They have also created a series of lesson plans aimed at secondary school students ranging from plant-based cooking to litter to the greenhouse effect - plans which a number of schools have confirmed they will use when classes resume.
Councillor Moira Smith, Lead Member for Children, Young People and Families, said: "More than 2,000 young people from South Tyneside decided that climate change was the subject they wanted to campaign on this year which shows a huge strength of feeling on the important issue.
"As experts around the world call for a green recovery from the pandemic and more people recognise that human wealth depends on the wellbeing of nature, it is reassuring to see our young people taking these messages on board and raising awareness at a local level."
South Tyneside Council is also taking action on climate change and aims to be carbon neutral by 2030.
Councillor Joan Atkinson, Lead Member for Area Management and Community Safety with responsibility for climate change, said: "This is an issue which is close to the Council's heart. We recognise the impact climate change is having on people's lives across the globe.
"Everyone has a crucial role to play in taking positive action in tackling this issue and our Young People's Parliament is to be applauded for their work in making people aware that we all have a common goal of carbon neutrality."