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Recently we hosted our first ever ‘NetZero for Young People’ training course in collaboration with City of Portsmouth College.
We welcomed young people from three secondary schools in Portsmouth to join us at our Changemaker Studios: Portsmouth space for an exhilarating day of engaging activities, green workshops, inspirational guest speakers and learning about the myriad of career opportunities in the ‘green’ sector.
In 2019 there was a dramatic change in the minds of the public, and most notably in young people. More than ever the issue of global warming and climate change came to the forefront of the world.
That summer there were protests across the planet, with social activists such as Greta Thunberg leading the charge for millions of young people to strike from school to protest what was being done to our planet, and in some places entire cities’ ground to a halt.
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Finally, after many years of campaigning and warnings, the public at large began to take the issue of climate change seriously. Around the globe nations began to announce targets to reduce their carbon output, with many prioritising reaching ‘Net Zero’ – the most common benchmark in reducing global emissions.
Net zero means to actively contribute nothing to global warming. This equate to emitting no greenhouse gases such as those released when burning fossil fuels, and ensuring that the total greenhouse gas emissions in our air never increases.
To achieve this is a two pronged approach, meaning we have to reduce our current emissions, whilst removing the current carbon in the atmosphere.
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The UN’s Global Goal 13 identifies the climate crisis as an urgent threat to civilisation. If we continue on our current trajectory, global temperatures will soar and cause irreversible ecological catastrophe. Already some countries are suffering wild fires spread across many miles each summer, and in others the heat would make the land inhospitable to live upon.
To avoid this ecological disaster we as a race must radically reduce our carbon emissions and focus our efforts on hitting Net Zero. The reason for this project is to inform and empower young people to be pro-active changemakers in society, taking the message of Net Zero forward and supporting each other to achieve it.
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To kick off the day we explored the term ‘NetZero’ with our young changemakers, and discussed how it relates to us personally as citizens within our own area. The young people then had the opportunity to learn about retro-fitting and the college courses taking place at the North Harbour campus to train in this field in order to meet the growing city wide and national needs.
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Following this, we were delighted to be joined by three industry professionals for a Question and Answer session with the pupils, they were:
- Bianca Carr – founder of the ‘Final Straw Foundation’
- Jen Gale – from ‘Sustainable(ish)’, author and activist
- Richard Bell – an experienced gas and heat pump engineer who now lectures in this field for the college
After a networking lunch of pizza, the young people took part in the WWF carbon footprint calculator, this resulted in some fantastic in-depth and thoughtful conversations around what they can do as individuals to help reduce emissions, and what that impact means.
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After this debate we then moved on to creating a short presentation to detail what the students would like to do within their own school communities to support the ‘NetZero’ agenda and become innovative changemakers. The young people were asked to come up with ideas of their own with which to present to their peers.
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Each school group presented their ideas back to Maria Vetrone from the City of Portsmouth College senior leadership team and Cllr Suzy Horton, Portsmouth City Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education.
There was such a fantastic energy in the room, and the breadth of the ideas put forward was simply brilliant. It was so obvious to all of us how seriously the young people have taken the task and just how much thought and passion they’d invested into their ideas. We were so impressed with all of them.
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Anna Miles MBE, a Teacher at Mayville High School said:
“I want to say the biggest thank you to you and everyone who made today happen. I had a couple of pupils with me that really needed a confident boost and they all left beaming. They absolutely loved today!”
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Unloc’s Managing Director Hayden Taylor said:
“Programmes like this aren’t just important to the knowledge and experience of young people, they’re integral to the very survival of our planet and the future of all species on it. It’s vital that today’s young generation have a clear understanding of the global issues we face, and just how we’ve reached such a critically dangerous point in our ecological situation in the first place”.
“It’s these young people that will inherit the world, and the myriad of problems created by previous generations. We have to ensure we prepare them with the knowledge, the tools, and the passion to take on this challenge and face it head on.”
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Maria Vetrone, City of Portsmouth College Chief Operating Officer, said:
“At City of Portsmouth College, we recognise the importance of net zero training for all. Only through awareness of the issues facing our beautiful planet and the steps we all need to take to reverse the already frightening results of climate change can we really start to turn the tide.”
“It was very encouraging and a privilege to spend time with all the bright and engaged brilliant young people here today. I hope that we can keep running these events for Portsmouth and the region and I look forward to seeing more of our fabulous young people attend and benefit.”
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City of Portsmouth College – NetZero Project Manager Toby Cartledge said:
“It was great to see the young people of Portsmouth and surrounding area embrace the training on Net Zero and sustainability. COPC have worked hard over the past year to build their own Net Zero training hub and retrofit property and we look forward to our future workforce passing through our college.
“A big shout out must go to Unloc for hosting the event and ensuring a wonderful experience for all, and also a special thanks to the school attendees and their teachers for making the training day a memorable experience!”
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Find out more about the wide variety of courses and programmes at City of Portsmouth College here!
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To find out more about the Final Straw Foundation click here!
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