The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, was today (Thursday 10 July) joined by over 130 London school children plus TV presenter and wildlife photographer Chris Packham at the annual London School Environment Awards ceremony.
At a fun-filled event, held in City Hall, the Mayor met with, and personally congratulated, children from 65 of London’s winning schools where they were rewarded with cash prizes of £2,000 and £1,000.
The Mayor was elected on a manifesto promise to protect and preserve London’s open spaces and the Awards are designed to help foster children’s sense of responsibility for their local environment – a key part of the environmental agenda for London.
Now in its 5th year, over 580 schools from across the capital’s 33 boroughs registered for the 2008 awards and both the judges and the Mayor have been impressed with the level of enthusiasm and talent shown. The theme for this year’s Awards was learning how litter, graffiti and even noise can have a negative impact on the capital’s environment.
Entries that caught the judges’ eyes and imagination this year included schools where electric and water meters are hung on classroom walls so that the children are more aware of the readings and use them as part of maths lessons, one primary school that lobbied a local train company to combat fly-tipping on the railways, and a school that transformed its local environment by creating school ponds and helped replant shrub and flowers in local green spaces.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: ‘There has been a wonderful response to this year’s London School Environment Awards and the enthusiasm shown by all of these young green champions is really encouraging. Not only have they set a great example to all Londoners, young and old, they have, thanks to their parents and teachers, learnt at a young age the importance of caring for their environment.
‘The quality of our local environment has a huge impact on our well-being and our safety. If our streets and parks are covered in graffiti and litter we are sending out a message to everyone that the area has little value and we don’t care about it. These children excelling here today are learning valuable lessons that are helping London now, and will continue to do so in the future - I urge them to keep up the good work that they’ve already started.’
Chris Packham said: ‘The London Schools Environment Awards continue to go from strength to strength and I am so pleased to be a part of them again this year. It is really encouraging to see the volume of entries for 2008 and the level of knowledge that London school children are showing when it comes to improving aspects of London’s environment. I would like to again congratulate the teachers and students involved and encourage them to continue flying the green flag.'
Lesley Collinson, a teacher St Anthony's Catholic Primary School in Southwark who won first prize in their borough, said:
‘We've been involved with the London Schools Environment Awards for a number of years now and for us it is one of the best ways to get the whole school working together. This year we had a water project, set up a wildlife area and the children themselves formed a group called the Green Warriors who set up their own notice board and were really dynamic about promotion green issues in the school. One of the pupils even wrote a rap about the water project and our nursery pupils, who are only three, became committed composters! We'll be using our prize money to set up new vegetable gardens so that every pupil has the chance to grow and eat their own food at school, something which really helps them to learn more about good eating habits and how important the environment is for us all.’
Amy Walker, aged 10, a student at St Anthony's and member of Green Warriors, said: ‘The awards are really exciting. We got to show the judges all the work we had done for the water project. They really liked our gardens and artwork. I had to do loads of different types of writing and help set up displays. It's a great way to learn and we're all going to be singing the rap at the 'Green Oscars' Celebration in Southwark on Friday.’
Richard Aylard, Thames Water's Director of External Affairs and Sustainability, said: ‘Thames Water is proud to support these awards, which help young people to understand the value of water, and how they can help to ensure there is enough to go around now and in the future. The awards encourage young people to make simple changes to their lives, such as turning off the tap when brushing their teeth. Water saving habits young people start now will become a way of life.
‘We are also focusing on the disposal of waste and have hosted a number of school visits to our London sewage treatment works.’
The London Schools Environment Awards were set up in 2003, in conjunction with the 28 Capital Standards boroughs, to develop children's sense of responsibility for their environment. They are run in partnership with the principal sponsor, Thames Water and are also supported by EDF Energy, Capital Standards and the Department for Education and Skills.
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