On Friday 29th November, Oli and I spent the day at County Hall for the Youth Parliament Climate Forum.
Mr Meeke came with us and we walked there and back. Leela was already there as she is a member of the Youth Parliament. There were representatives from lots of Devon schools; all the children were aged 11-18.
We were in the Council Chamber which is a very impressive space; the chairs were really comfortable and each place had its own microphone. The Forum began with a welcome speech by the leader of the Youth Parliament, followed by a presentation by Dr Ben King, who is Devon’s first United Nations accredited climate change teacher. Next we split into our school groups to discuss how to help Devon reduce its carbon footprint.
We then had to tell everyone our ideas, using our seat microphone! This was followed by lunch, which was all vegan food – Oli and I enjoyed it but we’re not sure Mr Meeke did! After lunch, there were activities to choose from, run by 4 different organisations: Devon Wildlife Trust, Plastic Free Schools, City Science and Growing Devon Schools. We had to choose 2 activities; first of all Oli and I chose Devon Wildlife Trust because we both like animals and we learnt how to create habitats for bugs, snakes and hedgehogs. Secondly, we chose Plastic Free Schools as we thought it might give us ideas for the ECS Eco Council. We found out that there is a course the school can take to learn how to become a plastic free school. After the activities, we listened to some closing speeches by Youth Parliament members.
It was a great day and we learnt lots.
Ruari Q – Year 7
