Thirty six High School pupils from East Lancashire have been preparing for the third annual student climate conference.
The Conference of Ribble Valley Schools (CORVS) was inspired by the UN’s COP events where leaders work together on solutions to tackle climate change, with the first event taking place in the borough in June 2023.
On February 5th Students from Bowland High School, Oakhill College, Pleckgate High School, Ribblesdale High School and St. Christopher’s HS recently spent an afternoon at the council offices in Clitheroe with local leaders discussing the challenges posed by climate change, and making plans for CORVS3, which will take place on June 20 at Ribblesdale High School.
Organised by the Ribble Valley Climate Action Network (RVCAN) the pupils were joined at the council offices in Clitheroe by Ribble Valley Mayor, Councillor Louise Edge; Chairman of the Climate Working Group, Councillor David Birtwistle; and Mara Gee, Alison Cross and David Rawkins from RVCAN.
Cllr Edge, said: “It was a pleasure to meet with such inspirational young people. The event highlighted the passion being shown by pupils across the region’s schools for moving towards a greener, more sustainable future.”
Cllr Birtwistle noted that whilst 67% of people nationally are concerned about climate change, according to a recent survey, only 54% of Ribble Valley residents are concerned. He went on to say “The council aspires to be carbon neutral by 2030; local initiatives include rewilding at Edisford, increasing the number of charging points for electric vehicles across the valley and recycling food waste.”
Cllrs Edge and Birtwistle held a Q&A session with the pupils, which included the consequences of political change nationally affecting local planning policy, the problems associated with building new houses on flood plains, the pros and cons of insulating old houses and what the future of house building might look like.
Richard Spencer, staff delegate from Bowland High School, said: “It was inspiring to hear the students ask so many well-informed and intelligent questions, and to see them engage with the consultation with the councillors in such a mature way.”
Frank Meechan, staff delegate from Oakhill College, said “The pupils are showing real initiative with this programme: their questions demonstrated time and again just how knowledgeable they are regarding the climate and nature emergency.”
Following the Q&A students discussed plans for CORVS3 and considered pledges they could make while reporting back on last year’s pledges. Joanna (St. Christopher’s) emphasised the importance of support from teachers when making pledges, and Josh (Ribblesdale) asked whether the council would be prepared to make pledges and report back on them at CORVS4. Martha (Oakhill) requested in addition that practical advice concerning changes that all could make to live more sustainably, and also how to engage in climate conversations.
The theme for CORVS 3 is Nature and Farming. Jack Spees (CEO Ribble Rivers Trust) has already agreed to be the keynote speaker and the pupil delegates have identified a number of prominent members of the local farming community who they hope will provide workshops. Emaan (Pleckgate) and Cooper (St. Christopher’s) made some excellent suggestions regarding inviting local business leaders so that they could see how much caring for the environment matters to young people in the region.
Leanne Billington, staff delegate from Ribblesdale High School, said: “The enthusiasm of the students to engineer positive change in a thoughtful and collaborative way is wonderful to see. They are approaching a wide ranging problem with so many impacts practical, brave and achievable solutions.”
Building on the success of last year’s conference, CORVS3 is set to expand, with a number of primary schools attending for a separate programme, as well as a number of new delegate schools from across East Lancashire.
