Getting young people involved in climate action
Our youth engagement project aims to reach 8,000 young people between the ages of 10 and 25 across Fife through talks, workshops, and events. Activities are open to youth groups across the region. They are completely FREE.
A brief outline of our talks and workshops is below. For more information or to book a session please contact Marianne O Neill. Email marianne@youth1st.co.uk.
Talks
We can give talks to larger groups of young people to raise awareness of the climate emergency. We can do this in an assembly setting or as an introduction before a workshop.
Talks include:
- What is ‘climate change’ and why should you care?: An introduction to climate change and how it is affecting the world right now.
- How everyone can make a difference: Discuss the ways young people can get involved in climate action through activities such as tree planting, beach cleans and citizen science projects and empowering them to challenge the actions of other people and companies.
- Eating for climate change: Discuss the carbon cost of the food we eat (and potentially waste) and the importance of eating local and in season.
- The Sixth Mass Extinction: What is the biodiversity crisis?: This talk connects human actions and climate change to the loss of biodiversity, both locally and across the world.
- Climate justice: A discussion on the global inequality of climate change and how it affects groups including women and LBGTQ+ people.
Time commitment: 20 minutes
Delivery: In-person
Participants: No maximum number
Age: 10-25
Workshops
Unless otherwise stated, all workshops outlined below can be one or two hours long. The one-hour sessions are specifically designed for a classroom setting. Our workshops are interactive, fun and discussion-based sessions that will give young people the knowledge and tools to tackle the climate emergency.
I have also collaborated with Nourish and an Additional Special Needs teacher to develop a workshop for delivery in ASN classes, youth clubs and schools.
Workshops include:
- Nobody is too small to make a difference: A workshop designed to make sure young people feel that their voices can be heard and that they are not powerless.
- Climate anxiety and eco grief: A workshop discussing the ways we can protect ourselves from being overwhelmed and keep a cool head in a warming planet.
- Climate change simulated: a one-hour workshop with simulations and experiments to model climate change and its adverse effects. Young people will discuss how human activities connect to the symptoms of climate change.
- How personal choices make a difference: Three different workshops that address how our actions can have an adverse effect on the environment and how to mitigate our negative influence and lower our carbon footprint. The workshops cover cooking and eating (this research-based workshop requires IT access), fast fashion and shopping and climate-friendly holidays.
- The 6th mass extinction – climate change and the biodiversity crisis: Learn how climate change affecting the plants and animals of the world.
- Climate change and the marine environment: Workshop on how humans are affecting marine animals and ecosystems.
- Your climate footprint: How anyone can make a difference: Ideal for younger groups. Similar to ‘Nobody too small to make a difference’ and ‘Climate change simulated’ but with more focus on carbon footprint, games and activities.
- ‘Fast Fashion and Shopping’: A workshop that explains the 7 R’s of recycling, why fast fashion can be harmful to both the environment and to people, greenwashing and includes some creative upcycling activities.
- ‘Climate Friendly Travel’: A workshop that discusses how travel decisions – from commutes to holidays – affect our carbon footprint.
Time commitment: 1-2 hours
Delivery: In-person
Participants: Up to 34
Age: 10-18
Awards: Young people can use these workshops to work towards a climate action Hi5 or Dynamic Youth award.
Climate Action Games
A series of games including bingo, snakes and ladders, top trumps, go fish and twister- which all have
a climate change / action theme. These are an alternative way to get the climate change message across in a
fun and interactive way.
Climate Fresk
Using a Climate Fresk designed specifically for young people, participants work as a team to find the cause and effect relationships between a set climate cards. They then use the cards to build a collage that explains climate change. This is a collaborative and creative approach. Climate Fresk is perfect for those who prefer more active and visual learning
This session can be two hours or three hours. The three-hour session includes some experiments and demonstrations that model the causes and effects of climate change.
Time commitment: 2-3 hours
Delivery: In-person
Participants: Minimum 6, maximum 24
Age: 10-25
Awards: Young people can use this session to work towards a climate action Hi5 or Dynamic Youth award.
Pollinator surveys
We run pollinator surveys between April and September each year. Pollinating insects play a vital role in our environment. They ensure that many of our crops and wild plants are able to set seed and produce fruit. We need to know how their populations are changing as a result of the climate emergency and other factors.
Surveys aim to gather this data on a wide range of flower-visiting insects. Pollinator surveys are outdoor citizen science projects. Young people will learn how to identify and record bees, butterflies, hoverflies and other insects. Young people will also gain an appreciation for the importance of pollinators. Surveys contribute to the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme
Time commitment: 1-1.5 hours
Delivery: In-person
Participants: Up to 15
Age: 10-25
Awards: Young people can use this session to work towards a climate action Hi-5 or Dynamic Youth award.
Litter picks, beach cleans and Seaweed Search
Youth1st has access to 25 litter pickers, clipboards, bags and stickers for collection (additional pickers can be requested with enough notice). The Climate Action Youth Project has run several litter picks with schools in youth groups across Fife.
Beach cleans are more formal and require permission from the Marine Conservation Society and the landowner to run. We have run these as both public and private events. Public events are advertised by the Marine Conservation Society and Climate Action Fife and are free to join without booking.
Private events can be booked with enough notice. Beach cleans form part of a UK-wide citizen science project. The data gathered is used in research and informing policy.
Seaweed Search
As with beach cleans, these events can be public (advertised on the Climate Action Fife website and on social media) or private with booking.
During the event, attendees will learn about the importance of this citizen science project and gain an appreciation seaweeds role in the ecosystem. Attendees will get an identification form and recording chart. The data gathered will help with a UK-wide monitoring which is run by the Natural History Museum and the Marine Conservation Society .
Time commitment: 1-1.5 hours
Delivery: In-person
Participants: Up to 35
Age: 10-25
Awards: Young people can use this session to work towards a climate action Hi-5 or Dynamic Youth Award.
Projects
We have designed the ‘B: A Climate Champion’ project in collaboration with B:activ.
This project will see young people learn the basics of climate change but also be trained and prepared to deliver climate change activities themselves, thereby helping spread the climate change message.
The project will take place with a group of young people over four weeks in four two-hour sessions (eight hours total contact time). This is sufficient time for the young people to achieve a climate action Dynamic Youth Awards or Hi-5.
The aims of the project are:
- To empower young people to be able to talk about climate change
- To spread the climate change message and get more people to take action
- To build the confidence of young people
- For young people to achieve a climate action Dynamic Youth Award or Hi-5
Time commitment: Five hours minimum contact time over more than four sessions
Delivery: In-person
Participants: 10 (more can be taken but further time might be needed)
Age: 10-25
Events
We run events including seagrass planting, beach cleans, youth work networking events, outdoor learning and citizen science projects. See the Climate Action Fife events page for full details.
