Now in its ninth year, the B&NES Youth Climate Summit took place on 6 February at King Edward’s School. A committee of pupils from King Edward’s, Kingswood and Norton Hill Schools arranged everything from contacting speakers to managing the schedule for the day and acting as facilitators.

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Over 60 pupils aged 14 upwards attended the Summit to discuss global environmental issues. The one-day event included opportunities to hear from some inspirational key note speakers, attend practical workshops and take part in creative sessions to share ideas and inspire young people to work towards a more sustainable future. Attendees included pupils from King Edward's, Kingswood, Norton Hill, Ralph Allen and St Laurence Schools.

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The speakers at the Summit held impressive eco credentials and included:

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Piers Taylor – Founder, Invisible Studio Architects

Tom Bowles – Founder, Hartley Farm Shop

Kerry McCarthy MP – Member of Parliament for Bristol East and former Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. Kerry is also a patron of FoodCycle

Simon Crowfoot – Board Director at Ecotricity (a renewable energy company) and MD of Electric Highway

Dr William Roberts – Senior Research Associate at the School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol

Vicky Murray – Sustainability Manager, Pukka Herbs

Julian Jones – Co-ordinator, Friends of the Earth Bristol

Michael Pitts – Underwater photographer

Tim Gatfield – Founder, Cherry Wood Project

Nikki Jones – Freelance researcher & writer on Global Energy

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The Summit is sponsored by local business, Hartley Farm Shop, who are providing the event’s refreshments, using local produce.

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Looking back at the Summit, Tom Wilson (aged 16), one of the pupils organising the event, said, “The Youth Climate Summit has always been a highlight of my year, whether that’s from attending it or helping to facilitate sessions. I’ve had the opportunity to meet some really inspiring people and from that, have been inspired myself. The Summit offers a platform to people of my age to get our opinions heard on a huge variety of topics and gives us the opportunity to discuss it with both professionals and fellow students. The event has brought together many schools from across Bath and created connections between our communities which are essential if we want our generation’s voices to be heard in the Climate Change debate.”

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Fellow organizer, Alex Ball, from Norton Hill School, added, “Organising the Summit has involved meeting up weekly and emailing politicians and speakers to invite them to speak or run a workshop at the event. Many hours have been put into refining each part of the event to make it as enjoyable and memorable as possible. The environmental issues covered stretch from sustainable energy, politics, and wildlife photography, to conservation and sustainable food. Farming and architecture are also included.”