Net Zero Newcastle

Some of the students at Newcastle Bridges School enjoyed being part of the climate summit at the Northern Stage of Monday 13th November.

The council state that it is their

“commitment to have Net Zero emissions by 2030, 20 years ahead of the UK Government’s target, requires far reaching change in every part of our city. It is something that can only be achieved by everyone coming together to reduce our carbon footprint, mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change and grasp the opportunities of the new green economy”

https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/our-city/climate-change/net-zero-newcastle Guest speakers shared key information about what has been implemented so far and what proposals are in place for the future development of this target. With this knowledge, students were then given the opportunity to move into breakout groups, allowing them to explore areas of personal interest in greater detail, thus, learning ways in which they, and we, as a school can become part of this overarching plan.

Students split themselves between two groups, one about transport and one about waste. They celebrated what is currently taking place in school, such as environmental studies, the creation of our recycled bottle greenhouse, and growing our own vegetables. We also proudly shared how we refill water bottles and share out surplus food at lunch time. However, it also encouraged students to think of ways the school could be even better, some of which will be proposed to our school council group who meet half-termly.

In addition to this, students were inspired to think of ways the council could address these issues city wide, some of the ideas included water filling stations and a bottle return scheme. These were then shared with power, clarity and enthusiasm to all the other schools in attendance. Absolutely brilliant!