Youngsters from schools across East Ayrshire gathered last week to celebrate the area’s Clean Green Education Awards for the first time in more than two years.

The East Ayrshire youths have played a pivotal role in shaping the ways in which the Council and local communities are tackling climate change.

At the second Children and Young People’s Climate Conference, which took place as a virtual event in in 2021, the young enthusiastic delegates pledged to develop Climate Change Actions Plans for their individual schools and wider communities.

That event concluded with a commitment to recognise the achievements of young people in tackling Climate Change with the launch of the Clean Green Education Awards.

Since then, 21 schools have developed their own action plans and these include 217 individual action points which the children and young people have implemented.

In all, 18 establishments submitted evidence for the 2022 Clean Green Education Awards and all of these achieved a Bronze accreditation.

Special recognition for early action was also awarded to schools including:

New Cumnock Primary School, for a range of initiatives encouraging energy saving within their establishment; Lochnorris Primary School, for reducing transport emissions by encouraging active travel by walking, cycling and scooting to school; Lochnorris Supported Learning Centre, for reducing and recycling food waste and composting; Netherthird Primary School, for their commitment to the natural environment and work in supporting the local community garden.

Councillor Graham Barton said: “As a council we have responded to the young people’s call for action.

"We have established a £1 million climate change investment fund, which will be used to support the four key themes of our strategy – energy, transport, waste and natural environment.

We need to accelerate the pace of change and this funding.

“Our aim is to become a net zero council by 2030 and for the wider East Ayrshire community to reach net zero by 2045 and if we all follow the examples set today by our children and young people, I really believe we are on track to achieve this.”