Engaging Young People in Climate Preparedness
This summer, we piloted some family friendly activities exploring how we can engage children and young people in climate preparedness and building resilience.
At Stoneyfield Park and the South Asian Heritage Festival, 41 young people designed their own emergency bags, drawing or choosing different items to cut and stick, using colours and adding stickers.
We had conversations with over 89 people around items they would pack in their bags for hot weather and for cold weather, and what could help in a power cut.
With the recent weather, lots of children chose to pack a bag for hot weather – with water bottles, hats, suncream and mini fans regularly making an appearance. The best part of this activity was also seeing creativity shine through and adding personal and meaningful items like teddy bears and lots of colours.
The activity allowed for conversation around why certain items would be chosen over others and why they were helpful. For example, candles were sometimes suggested for power cuts, when in fact a torch and batteries is a safer and more reliable option, and this activity allowed for that discussion in a fun and creative way.
The activities were inspired by recent feedback from the GM Age Friendly Network who acted as a critical friend to our emergency checklist resource – suggesting taking a whole family approach to checklists and packing emergency bags could encourage better engagement with the idea of preparedness.
Taking part in the activity also opened up conversations around the Extra Care Register and other services that can support people and households in different emergency situations.
This project has been made possible thanks to funding from Electricity North West.
