Pledges for the planet
A couple of hours looking after the Act for Ealing stand at St Benedicts’s Environmental Symposium in Ealing left me both impressed and humbled.
During my stint I asked the young people to make pledges of the actions they would take to help to protect the environment. The collected pledges, tied to a fishing net, made an eye catching display of a wide range of commitments. Top of the pops came travel to school – pledges to walk, cycle, and scoot, use public transport more and cars less. Next in popularity came actions related to waste, especially plastic. For example, avoiding the use of plastic bottles, reusing those you do have, responsible recycling of plastic waste. Not wasting energy also featured such as switching off lights and electrical equipment when not in use. There was interest in growing fruit, vegetables and flowers and of course planting trees. Some children wanted to encourage and join in with others, expanding the school’s green team and joining volunteer programmes. There were a few references to diet, eating less red meat and more plant based foods, and also to reusing clothing.
I was impressed by the children’s knowledge and humbled by their enthusiasm and commitment.
Working with others trying to promote environmental actions, I found it useful to discover what had caught the attention of children (albeit a small sample) and to witness their apparent enthusiasm for taking action where this is within their grasp. We can perhaps reflect on how we can build on this not only in our continuing outreach to children but also in encouraging others and perhaps most of all in spurring us on to greater efforts ourselves.
St Benedict’s provide a wonderful report of the event here:
Enid – The #ActForEaling team
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