90 pupils from Great Bradfords Junior School in Braintree came together at a special assembly to pledge how they can tackle the challenge of climate change and do what they can to help protect the planet.
As part of the school’s half term local citizenship project, children from Year 4 undertook a six-week project to look at the impact of litter in and around their school and invited Braintree District Council to attend a special assembly to present their work, listen to feedback and hand over letters they had written for their voices to be heard.
Their project began by researching the amount and types of litter they litter-picked and investigating the reasons as to why they thought it was present.
The children surveyed the litter bins they currently use within their school grounds and produced their own litter bin designs to share their ideas of how they felt they could be improved. As part of the project, posters and snappy slogans were also created to portray what actions everyone can take, such as recycling more and reducing waste, as well as encouraging everyone to bin their litter responsibly.
Cllr Wendy Schmitt, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and The Environment at Braintree District Council, said: “I was extremely overwhelmed to be invited to the assembly and to listen to what the children had to say, view their project work and read all the individual letters they had written to me personally. Seeing how passionate they are about the environment, I can only applaud the children and the school for their initiative.
“Our younger generation is the beginning of the end to litter and is a beacon of excellence demonstrating how much they care about tackling climate change to protect the future of our planet – our home.”
Mrs Beverley Thompson, Deputy Head and Year 4 teacher said, “The children were so excited to work on this project and feel very passionate about looking after the environment and protecting the creatures who share our spaces. Having the opportunity to present their findings to Councillor Schmitt only made them even more determined to make an impact and influence others to make good choices.
“With the help and advice from Councillor Schmitt and Braintree District Council about how our school can source better bins for litter and recycling, we will be able to continue our quest to keep our school and local community litter free.”
Taking on board the views expressed by the children in their letters, Braintree District Council will work alongside Great Bradfords Junior School to recommend bins currently available in the marketplace that may be a better investment for the school’s needs.
