Issue 4

December 2021

In the wake of COP26 we're here to help you take actions in your school. In this bulletin we look forward to the South Yorkshire Schools Climate conference in March, and we also focus on how climate change impacts the mental health of young people and give you some ideas of how you can tackle this issue.

Schools Climate Conference

1st - 3rd March 2022

Save the date!

We already have a lot of new speakers lined up for you, including:

• a keynote speech from Project Drawdown on how we can remove CO2 from the atmosphere
• a session on how to teach climate issues through music
• insights into the exciting things already happening in the South Yorkshire region
• a session from Sheffield University for GCSE science students on how the batteries for electric vehicles are made
• South Yorkshire Woodlands officers will show you how to plant and nurture trees in your school grounds 

And many old favourites will be returning, including Alan Hesse, Bosh! and Amazelab.

Also look out for an exciting new schools competition for all age groups, run in conjunction with South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.

We may be tempted not to talk about climate change with young people in order not to appear gloomy, but we are doing them a disservice:

A new global survey of 10000 young people aged 16 to 25 published in September illustrates the depth of anxiety many are feeling about climate change.

Nearly 60% of young people approached said they felt very worried or extremely worried. More than 45% of those questioned said feelings about the climate affected their daily lives. Three-quarters of them said they thought the future was frightening. Over half (56%) say they think humanity is doomed. Two-thirds reported feeling sad, afraid and anxious. Many felt fear, anger, despair, grief and shame - as well as hope.

Click here for the full article.

Earlier in the year BBC Newsround surveyed 2000 eight to 16 year olds, which showed young people were losing sleep due to climate anxiety.

Click here to see the results of the survey.

Clearly it is important to enable young people to talk about these things (see our conference session from Thoughtbox here). But we also need to enable them to take action to improve their futures. Below are two ideas of actions your school can take to enable young people to have more control over their environment and their futures.

What is your school doing?

Please share with us anything that you think may help to encourage other schools on their journey to a better environment for all.

Here at SCESY our goal is to create a supportive network of schools within the South Yorkshire region. So please let us know of your stories and successes so that we can share them in future newsletters. Send your photos, stories and video links to schools@scesy.org.uk

Previous newsletters can be found here. 

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