by Fleur Wells
Parent, Teacher, Young Climate Warriors Trustee
To paraphrase Whitney Houston; the children are our future! A cliché perhaps, but like all good clichés, it’s rooted in truth. In a short while, our children could be the independent decision-makers, teachers, activists, enthusiasts, policy-makers, and catalysts-for-change we hope they will be. The onus is therefore on us, as parents, the main educators in their lives, to inspire, teach and provide the toolkits to live in an eco-positive and sustainable way.
So, no pressure then.
How can parents help their children have a green mindset?
No one wants to be a nag; we all get sick of hearing the sound of our own voices doing that, and it is only a short-term approach, enforcing uninspired, duty-boundness. If we want our children to inspire others, we must, of course, inspire them.
Perhaps some shock factor, to get the sustainable juices going? There’s plenty to doom-scroll online if you’re looking for something to jolt them into action, in the hope of inspiring them to be the next Greta. While alarmism is often a very effective stimulus, it is not the only and certainly not the best tool in your kit. Great for attention grabbing, but it can also contribute to a great deal of counter-productive anxiety, and even worse have a negative impact on mental health.
So, if as a parent you are looking for positive messaging about climate change – to encourage and empower, rather than potentially trigger eco-anxiety, Young Climate Warriors is one of a number of fun, matter-of-fact and practical resources available to you, and for free.
Its purpose is to inspire young people to want to get involved and to give it a go, whilst amplifying their voices in a way that suits them; there’s no dry whitepapers to slog through, neither are there the angst-inducing clickbait articles. Set up in February 2019, by Katrina Judge – with a child-friendly website (www.youngclimatewarriors.org) and weekly challenges, it encourages children and families across the country to choose that ‘green mindset’.
Katrina explains; “I felt compelled to convert my feelings into actions and channel my energies into a venture to try and help combat climate change.”
By offering children fun, weekly climate-change related challenges the initiative inspires carbon-busting action around the home, encourages climate change discussion, and sparks creative and imaginative activities in nature.
The team of children and families who subscribe for free (who are affectionately referred to as Young Climate Warriors) are making a positive impact through individual actions, tweaks and lifehacks. The collective power and good-feeling generated by these micro-actions are shared and amplified within their communities, through school assemblies, often featured in local press, and of course celebrated on the YCW social media channels (Instagram: @youngclimatewarriors and Facebook: /youngclimatewarriors).
Speaking from personal experience, my own two children (10 years and 7 years), take great pleasure in planning family meals using locally-produced and in-season vegetables. This was originally inspired by an activity set by Young Climate Warriors in June 2020, and has now become something of a Sunday afternoon ritual as they flick through cookbooks, do a little research on a nearby device, create a colourful meal plan and scribble out shopping lists for the week. This has two major benefits. One, it saves me a job. Two, it gets us chatting and thinking together so we can make the best environmentally friendly decision we can.
Some Young Climate Warriors challenges are easier than others, the ebbs and flows of life mean they don’t always present the easiest option, and we don’t always get it right. Back to the family meal analogy – the produce of the week may not be everyone’s favourite, or the final dish not something any of us think we fancy, it’s not the most convenient option, but we do our best, and we discuss it. The very act of mindfully planning our meals in a sustainable way is both cathartic and it allows us to slow down and think about how we shop and eat.
It’s very real and practical, and it involves the children in such a way that they enjoy ownership and not feel they are being preached to. It’s real, it’s local, it’s immediate and it’s relevant. It’s not crusty grown-ups and politicians talking around a nebulous concept. It helps to connect the dots.
Young Climate Warriors helps to do just that with all of its challenges – connect the dots between the very real effects of climate change and what we do, and can do better in our day-to-day lives. Young Climate Warriors believes that the best way to engage and activate our children is to make it fun and satisfying to be part of the change.
Children always learn by example and early behaviours and beliefs will be ingrained and carried through into adult life. However, by taking part and subscribing to Young Climate Warriors as parents and primary caregivers, we may also learn a thing or two from the children as well.
All that is needed is a bit of curiosity, a playful attitude and maybe a tiny bit of know-how. Paying attention to the ordinary and everyday that might have escaped our notice for years, can open the door to tiny adventures close to home. Outdoor play is not just a ‘nice to have’, it is essential for children to experience the world to learn about it and their place in it.
Learning about our neighbour-hood nature connects us to where we live and makes us feel more at home. The more time spent outdoors, the more you notice the patterns of the changing seasons; get to know the sights, sounds and smells of your local wildlife; and enjoy ‘slow time’ as you lose yourself in the fascination of nature. Creativity, resilience and positive attitudes towards the environment and exercise are forged in outdoor play. Understandable fears of busy roads and encounters with strangers can make parents and carers feel anxious about letting their children and young people play out of sight but it is vital that all young people have opportunities for unstructured outdoor adventures.
On your wild days out, it is very important to remember that the world is not a playground for humans but the habitat for us and all other living things. At the very least, we should try and leave as little trace of our activities as possible. It would be fantastic if we could leave things in an even better state than we found them and to have a positive impact on our environment.
To help more young people benefit from the transformational power of travel and adventure, YHA has launched a campaign – The Adventure Effect. It hopes the campaign will inspire young people and their families to get outdoors.
Sussex and Surrey have an abundance of woodlands – here the flowers appear early in the year when the ground has warmed up and it is light. Once the leaves on the trees have come out, the woods become too shady for most flowers to grow. Plants that take full advantage of the brighter spring conditions include wood anemones, bluebells, primroses, common dog-violets and lesser celandines. Of all these, perhaps the bluebell puts on the most impressive display, for few wild flowers cover the ground so completely or smell as sweet. Chinthurst Hill near Wonersh, Brede Hill near Battle, Heaven Farm near Uckfield and Angmering Woods near Arundel, all put on annual bluebell spectaculars along with a medley of other spring flowers.
a captivating appeal for many people and to discover one is thrilling. Ditchling Beacon and Malling Down are excellent places to search for them. Look out now for the early purple orchid – its clusters of flowers, long spotted leaves and unpleasant smell help to identify it – and come back in the summer for more orchid spotting.
There is no better season for listening to bird song and often the adventures begin by simply opening a window! Every habitat has its own star performers with some having flown vast distances to be with us. If you want to hear some outstanding virtuosos then head to heathlands such as Chobham, Pirbright, and Iping and Stedham Commons. Here you may hear (if not see) buzzy Dartford warblers, melodious willow warblers or perhaps a chirring nightjar or two. Even more discrete than these birds are the nightingale – its drab, brown colouring making it almost impossible to spot in the dense undergrowth it inhabits. Its song, though, is unmistakable and the male sings both day and night until it finds a mate. Make your way to Ebenhoe Common, Pulborough Brooks and Puttenham Common for an unforgettable auditory experience. Make a note of International Dawn Chorus Day which is on Sunday 2nd May this year. Events are usually planned by a range of local wildlife groups.
