'We can have a loud voice - let’s all shout together!'

From the youth led movements like #FridaysforFuture, to the marches happening right now at COP26 in Glasgow, young people have been doing all we can to make our voices heard.

But why do we care so much? Maybe because we have our eyes open to the world around us, because we have chosen not to ignore it, or because it is our future, and we want there to be a planet for us to live on when we get older. We know that decisions must be made now to save our planet, and we are prepared for our lives to change for that to happen. Ironic, since it is not us who get to make the decisions.

Young people are doing all that we can to influence decision makers, but many of us are also trying to encourage positive change in our local area. This is what we have done in Parliament Hill School’s Climate Action Group. We have tried to improve sustainability in school; we have campaigned to reduce plastic packaging in school lunches - there are no more plastic water bottles!

Eva is a member of Parliament Hill School's Climate Action Group (Image: Parliament Hill School)

We are particularly interested in generating biodiversity in places where it may have been lost. We have helped our school community by creating an orchard and wildflower meadow.

The natural space helps promote wellbeing, the planting develops biodiversity, and we have dedicated each of the 11 new trees to a woman who has inspired us. We call this our Feminist Orchard. But we are not stopping here. We hope to encourage other schools and groups to take action, as we have done and will continue to do.

Now is your chance to act. Think about the climate in everything you do: reduce, reuse, recycle, refill. Where you see a problem, think about it, question it, change it. As a school, group, or individual you can make change, even if the changes seem small to you. Remember, young people have a huge voice when we all shout together.