The Everyone’s Environment programme, headed by Think NPC launched the first of three briefings last week, that will be published over the coming months. The briefings explore how environmental change and environmental policies will impact different social groups including young people, older people, disabled people and people from ethnic minority communities.
The programme is a collaboration of over 40 social and environmental charities and funders to empower people from different social groups to have their needs reflected in environmental decision making and policy.
Think NPC has been working with these charities to gather evidence on the impact environmental crisis will have on different social groups and to hear from the people in these groups, what they want to see happen. Youth organisation Woodcraft Folk ran sessions relating to the programme so that the their young members could share thoughts which will go towards a report being written by Think NPC that will be sent to the Government.
A number of Woodcraft Folk groups took part including The Kite Trust group at Lockerbrook, New Barnet Venturers, a Green Influencer group in Leeds, DFs at Spring Awakening and leaders at a Young Leader Training session. Upcoming Camps for All participants, another green influencer group in Leeds and Manchester Pioneers will also be taking part in future sessions.
In the sessions, groups have been ranking the priorities they thought were most important to tackle issues caused by the climate crisis as well as learning about the impact of the climate crisis such as how this affects young people’s concentration at school. The participants also spoke up about what they want to see happening in the future regarding climate action such as Governments “Encouraging more use of renewable energy and protecting wildlife and natural spaces across the UK”.
The young people’s insights were valuable at highlighting what they that perceived is already being done by schools, colleges, universities, our local and national governments and Woodcraft Folk to lessen the impacts of the climate crisis. Young people shared that Woodcraft Folk played an important role in “educating young people about the climate crisis and how they can lower their own impact” as well as “providing education and encouraging youth to make change”.
Some young people were really positive that society was being active at slowing/stopping the climate crisis but many were keen to change systems and that it was not just down to individual actions, highlighting that this would need social action, lobbying and involving Governments in the conversations.
During the sessions Woodcraft Folk asked young people how they feel the climate crisis affects their everyday life now with feedback given such as less snow days, hotter summers lots of plastic and litter around, use of too much electricity, expensive public transport and pollution.
You can find out more about the project at https://www.thinknpc.org/examples-of-our-work/initiatives-were-working-on/everyones-environment-programme/ and the launch of the first briefing >