Hampshire’s Youth MPs are celebrating the resounding success of the latest Hampshire Climate Conference, which brought together over 200 enthusiastic pupils and teachers from 15 schools across the county this term.
Held at Winchester College, this third annual conference was spearheaded by the Hampshire Youth Parliament, which is supported by Hampshire County Council and has been campaigning on climate change and environmental issues since 2019. Their biennial youth consultation, Make Your Mark, received an impressive 25,000 votes earlier this year, reaffirming the environment as the top priority for the county’s young people.
The climate conference is designed to empower young minds to drive local environmental change. This year’s one-day event featured a vibrant mix of plenary sessions and interactive workshops, catering to students from primary age through to GCSE level. The MYPs played a crucial role in ensuring the smooth running of the conference and facilitating engaging discussions.
Students participated in a variety of workshops on topics such as sustainable packaging, plastic pollution in our seas, and grassroots climate change adaptations. They also enjoyed hands-on activities like sampling river invertebrates, conducting ecological surveys, and tackling an ecology-based escape room. These activities not only educated but also inspired the students to take actionable steps towards environmental protection.
Pupils from across Hampshire came together to learn about pressing environmental issues and discover practical ways they can contribute to protecting our planet. They left with insights to implement at home and in their schools or colleges.
One Year 9 pupil from Meoncross School praised the organisers for an "incredible day", adding:
“We really enjoyed it. The day was very informative and enjoyable, especially the session about the health and sustainability of our waterways. I particularly loved the escape room session run by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. We worked as a team to find the cleanest point on the Itchen River to release our specimen. Learning about the environment is crucial for our generation. Thank you to the Hampshire Youth Parliament for organising the day.”
Ed, a youth MP representing East Hampshire, shared his excitement:
“This was my first conference as a youth MP. Everything went smoothly, and the group of children I was helping seemed to really enjoy the experience. I could see them learning in real time, which was incredible. Everyone was engaged, and it was a fantastic experience, very well run.”
The conference was a collaborative effort, with support from the community outreach team at Winchester College and various environmental organisations, including the Final Straw Foundation, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, Wessex Rivers, Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), Dorset Wildlife Trust, Butterfly Conservation, Environment Agency, Cameron Bespolka Trust, and Southampton Friends of the Earth.