Celebrating Earth Day 2020 from home- a climate change toolkit for young people

Although we can’t venture into the outdoors to celebrate Earth Day, we can still appreciate and learn more about the world around us while staying at home.

We know young people in Leeds are especially passionate about climate change as you have shown us through both the Leeds Youth Council and Leeds Youth Summit earlier this year.

That’s why to mark Earth Day 2020, we’ve created a toolkit of at-home activities, books and videos especially for young people to keep you busy and help you learn more about global climate change and sustainability. We hope these get you thinking about how we can all #LeedsByExample to tackle the climate emergency even during these difficult times.

Activities:

• Learn about the causes, impacts and management strategies for global climate change on BBC Bitesize, then test your knowledge with their climate change quiz.
• Find out more about urban wildlife through the Natural History Museum’s online resources. Activities include urban tree identification, making a bird feeder and recording wildlife observations- all of which you can do from home.
• The Priestley International Centre for Climate hosted an “Ask a Climate Researcher” for young people in Leeds. You can read the Q&A online and send in your own questions to be answered by a local researcher.
• WWF have a jam-packed website full of information and resources on climate change and biodiversity.
• WWF’s Carbon Footprint Calculator is a free online tool that calculates your household’s carbon footprint. Fill out the survey with the help of your family to find out how you can reduce your impact on the planet and live more sustainably.
• Use NASA’s Climate Time Machine to see how key climate indicators will change over time. Explore some of their other interactive tools to see how our planet is changing.

Reading:

• Charlie and Lola- Look after your planet (nursery/reception)
• Peppa Pig – Recycling Fun! (reception)
• Click Clack Moo – cows that type (KS1)
• Earth Heroes: Twenty Inspiring Stories of People Saving Our World by Lily Dyu (KS2)
• No one is too small to make a difference by Greta Thunberg (KS3/4)

Watch list:

• An Inconvenient Truth (secondary, U)
• Blue Planet and Planet Earth series (primary/secondary, U-PG)
• TED talks on climate change (secondary)
• Deadly 60 with Steve Backshall (primary)
• Chasing Coral (secondary, PG)
• The True Cost (secondary, 12)

Other links and fantastic resources:

#LeedsByExample have fantastic resources, toolkit, guidance and opportunities to get involved in. As stated on their website ‘We can’t solve climate change on our own, but together we can make a huge difference. The food we eat, the way we travel and power our homes, the stuff we buy and the way we get rid of it all affects climate change. Living more sustainably is easier than you think —and it can also help us save money and live healthier lives. By making simple changes, we can reduce our carbon footprint and help make Leeds a carbon neutral city. ‘ Find out more below.

Pupils at Lawnswood School were given “The planet we share’ as a brief for their non-fiction November competition. The brief touched upon climate change and what they would like to achieve for the future of our planet. Find out about the winners and view their inspiring ideas here.

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