Mayor announces new Climate Kick-Start prize winners
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, with the support of Bloomberg L.P, has today announced the winners of his second Climate Kick-Start Prize; helping five London secondary schools to pioneer environmental projects and engage young Londoners in climate action.
To coincide with the UN Climate Change Conference in Egypt (COP27), five schools have been awarded £10,000 each to kick-start or accelerate environmental action, building on the Mayor of London’s collaboration with Bloomberg L.P to address climate change in the capital. The schools and their projects are:
- Britton Academy (Havering) The ‘Growing Futures’ project for climate awareness – a gardening project intended to bring old or disused space back to life through rewilding and growind produce.
- The Halley Academy (Greenwich) Cost of living community project – students will set up projects to ease the cost of living in the community including growing produce for local food banks, carpooling, and uniform recycling scheme
- La Retraite RC Girls’ School (Lambeth) - Water reduction and monitoring project - a variety of projects to harvest rainwater and raise awareness of water usage including installing more water butts and a storage tank; installing a computer display to monitor weekly water use; changing taps in the school to eco taps; and delivering workshops to students across the school
- St John Bosco College (Wandsworth) Recycled plastic manufacturing, one bottle at a time - Students have developed a project to reduce plastic waste overall and recycle remaining bottles and their caps using a machine which can turn plastic waste into products for Design and Technology classes (pen casings, door signs, name badges)
- The Fulham Boys School (Hammersmith) Fulham Vertical garden – this will be a modern urban garden grown up the wall of the school to increase green space and help cool the building in hot summer months
Prize winners were announced at a ceremony at Bloomberg’s European Headquarters in London, hosted by the Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, Shirley Rodrigues alongside CBBC and Strictly Come Dancing star Rhys Stephenson. The prizes were presented by celebrity climate ambassadors including TV presenter and Paralympian, Ade Adepitan MBE, Radio 1’s Vick Hope, professional-footballer-turned-gardener Tayshan Hayden-Smith, BAFTA winning TV presenter Mehreen Baig and actor and WWF Ambassador Cel Spelman.
Deputy Mayor Shirley Rodrigues addressed students at the event about their role in tackling some of our planet’s biggest threats, including the climate emergency, flash flooding, fires in London, and air pollution, as well as the role governments and business have in the fight against climate change.
Climate Kickstart is backed by a host of exciting partners, including Bloomberg and Let’s Go Zero 2030. The 2022 programme will focus on encouraging students into green careers to respond to the growing demand for skills in renewable energy, home energy efficiency, green finance and electric transport.
Today’s event rounded off a week of career-focused activities for pupils to get involved in. Green careers events were held across London, as well as drop-in activities at secondary schools for students unable to travel and gave thousands of students an insight into the broad range of green jobs on offer. The Mayor has made investing in sustainable jobs and skills a key focus of his mayoralty and is supporting Londoners into futureproof jobs in the green sector through his Green Skills Academy.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “It is essential that we do all we can to build a fairer, greener London for everyone. We must take bold action to tackle the dangers of air pollution and climate change and we need brave new minds to help us do this.
“This year the Climate Kick-Start programme focused on encouraging pupils into green careers and really I’m pleased to announce the five new prize winners. Their submissions were brilliant, and their innovative projects will not only make a huge difference to their schools and the wider community, they will also help to inspire a new generation to get involved with climate action.”
Jemma Read, Global Head of Corporate Philanthropy at Bloomberg LP said: "Through our work with London’s young people we know that they are passionate about leading sustainable change. The winners of this year's Climate Kick-Start embody how innovative thinking and collaboration can lead to smart solutions to local environmental issues. We're proud to build on our partnership with the Mayor of London to help turn these ambitious plans into projects that benefit the wider community.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
- Two further careers hubs were postponed and will take place one on 17 November and one in the new year.
- All London secondary schools received a free, Key Stage 3 lesson resource curated by U-Explore to help outline the key environmental themes around the UN Climate Change Conference in Egypt (COP27) and related environmental issues
- Want to do something but don’t know where to start? Read these 10 actions Londoners can take to help save the planet (www.hubbub.org.uk/london) www.london.gov.uk/climatekickstart
The project further supports the work the Mayor is already doing to help young Londoners impacted by the consequences of climate change and air pollution. These measures includes:
- Schools Climate Resilience Programme - supporting schools to build their resilience to a changing climate through water efficiency and sustainable drainage measures
- Grow Back Greener Fund - £1.2m to support community projects to improve access to green spaces and make London more resilient to a changing climate
- the Schools and Early Years Climate Change guidance, advice for London schools and early years settings to help them better prepare for and adapt to the impacts of climate change, including overheating and flood risk
- London Community Energy Fund - grant funding to support green community energy projects such as solar panels on schools and GP surgeries
- Schools Air Quality Audit Programme and Pollution Helpdesk – audits of primary schools in London’s most polluted areas and funding to help schools take action, such as schemes to prevent ‘engine idling’ outside school gates
- Breathe London, with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, a network of air pollution sensors installed at hospitals, schools and in local communities to measure pollution locally, producing real-time air-quality data that Londoners can access
- School Streets, with funding from TfL and support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, closing roads surrounding schools to motor traffic at drop-off and pick-up times, enabling children to walk or cycle to school, reducing car trips and improving air quality.
About the adult education budget
- The Mayor’s Adult Education Budget (AEB) funds a range of green provision. In 2020/21, it funded 3,630 learners to undertake courses in very specific green skills, such as installing heat pumps or Electrical Vehicle (EV) charging points. However, many more learners took part in courses that provides support for the green economy in other ways. For example, 7,200 learners enrolled in construction, transport or energy courses that are related to green jobs, with another 18,500 learners taking relevant STEM qualifications that contribute to the green sector. All together these courses were funded with £32.5m of his AEB in 2020/21 academic year.
- His AEB also funds a majority of the training delivered through his Green Skills Academy. Launched earlier this year, the Academy is providing training in green areas, including retrofit, green spaces, solar and renewable energy, EV and low carbon transport. It will support over just under 3,000 learners into jobs and 3,700 Londoners into new training and learning.