Ecotricity, the green energy company that supplies my electricity, is looking for the greenest youngsters in Britain. And by youngster we mean 11-16 year olds.
If you are in the relevant age group and can submit your application (video, recording or written text) by 8 June you may win yourself and your parents a weekend ticket to WOMAD 2016. There are four categories, and so there are four winners, one in each category of Nature, Transport, Energy and Food. What are your ideas to make Britain greener?
As you can see, Findlay Wilde was one of the winners last year (in the Nature category) and said:
‘It’s hard to put into words just what a great opportunity and experience the Young Green Briton Chat was. To have the chance to meet such important people from the conservation world was fantastic, but to be able to share my thoughts and feelings with such a massive audience was really something else. It’s not every day you get to reach out to so many people.
The relationship I have formed with Ecotricity since the competition has been amazing. We are working together to protect Hen Harriers, they are supporting my campaign work and I really want to help them with the awareness for the Young Green Briton debate. If you feel strongly about protecting our environment, my best advice would be get involved, grasp this opportunity and let our generation’s voice be heard.‘
Thanks to Findlay, and thanks to their good sense, Ecotricity are funding a Hen Harrier satellite tag – I’m glad that when I pay them my electricity bill I am getting green energy and Hen Harrier protection too.
Here is a video from two others, Noella and Nerys, and their message is ‘Enter! Our voices matter!’.
So if you are full of ideas and aged 11-16 have a go!
I’m thrilled to have been chosen as this year’s Young Green Briton mentor for Nature, and so I’ll be at WOMAD too, and I’m looking forward to meeting all this year’s four winners, but especially the winner of the Nature category.
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My favourite kind of post, this: anything to do with young people engaging with nature and conservation practices… and I wonder how we adults – especially those, like myself, who are no longer active parents, or working with children in any capacity – can do more?
You often hear the comment that some young people who have an inclination towards the natural world can easily be disinclined by a variety of peer pressures, or by the notion of saving wildlife not being cool, perhaps particularly among boys.
But I am even more concerned when I consider the activities of some parents towards their nature-inclined children. The best of the worst is parents who don’t deliberately discourage, but do not want – or in many cases – know how to encourage their offspring. There’s a PR job to be done there, I think.
Much worse though, is when there is a deliberate discouragement. I was sad to witness yesterday a mother telling off her three/four-ish year old for sitting down on the pavement in a pedestrianised area to watch a small beetle. I pretended to be interested in the nearest shop window so that I could eavesdrop. The little boy was concerned that the beetle would be stood on, and wanted to move it, but mum dragged him away saying that it didn’t matter about an insect: “They’re not like proper animals”, and that he would get dirty on the ground. I could have wept really, at several lost opportunities, and my heart went out to the boy. This is not the first time I have witnessed a similar occurrence.
I have to look at my own behaviour here: what might I have done differently? One answer is to have walked on, not experiencing what I did, and saved myself the heartache. Many would say there are worst problems in life than a child being told off, and that I’ll never eradicate insensitive parenting.
Or I could have said something. Even at the time, I thought about speaking to the mother, but do I have the right? I too was stressed out by the behaviour of my children on occasions, and know how difficult bringing up children can be. ‘Advice’ from a stranger in the street, however well-intentioned, is not always welcome, or helpful. I’m not convinced though of not taking direct action. I’m considering how I might make an approach the next time something like this happens. I’m open to people’s thoughts and suggestions – and particularly from the younger readers of this blog.
Daphne – thank you very much for a great comment.