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Our National-Lottery funded Good Life Schools programme - which challenges the relentless pressure on young people to consume - officially launched in Wales on Black Friday, with young changemakers from Ysgol Maes y Gwendraeth in Carmarthenshire being filmed by BBC Wales for news programme Newyddion Ni.

Good Life Schools is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund and is a student-led programme that encourages young people to think critically and live differently, taking their school communities with them on a journey of change to share ways of living and learning that are good for both people and planet.

The changemakers at Ysgol Maes y Gwendraeth were joined by Global Action Plan Good Life Schools Coordinator for South Wales, Helen O'Sullivan, our Director of Education and Youth Engagement Dr Morgan Phillips and Councillor Aled Vaughan Owen, Welsh Cabinet Minister for Climate Change, Decarbonisation and Sustainability.

Good Life Schools featured on Newyddion Ni

The programme Newyddion Ni was broadcast on S4C Clic and on BBC iPlayer. You can watch it in Welsh here (see below for English transcript):

BBC Newyddion Ni - Transcription in English

Presenter: Next, I wonder how many of you know what being sustainable means? Well, pupils at Maes Y Gwendraeth near Llanelli are the first to learn more in a scheme that will happen in schools across Britain. Eleri has the details.

Eleri: Good Life Schools, a new programme to teach us to be more sustainable and kind to the environment. An exciting opportunity for this school, because these are the first pupils in the UK to start the programme.

Student 1: We have been learning that we don’t need a lot of money, the big house, nice car to have a good life.

Student 2: We have been learning about sustainability and the importance of living a good life.

Student 3: We have been learning how adverts want you to buy stuff, when you don’t really need them, and how this affects young children and young adults as well.

Eleri: In the end, 60 schools right across Britain will join. The aim is to help ease any concerns about climate change.

Morgan: It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you think about problems such as climate change. But by working together in Good Life Schools, young people feel a bit better and ready to do something positive in the world.

Student 4: The environment worries me a lot. This is the world we will grow up in, and this [GLS] eases my worries. 

Student 1: It was nice, and important, to be part of the project because I can tell people I have played a part in helping the environment. 

Eleri: Living good lives that are kinder to the environment is the aim and hopefully, creating happier pupils as well. 

Helen O'Sullivan, Global Action Plan Good Life Schools Coordinator for South Wales (pictured above) says:

‘It was fantastic to launch the first Good Life Schools group session in the UK, here in Wales and during Wales Climate Week.

We were thrilled that the BBC featured these young changemakers on Newyddion Ni and that it aired on Black Friday. 

We hope the programme will inspire other schools and young people to take positive action for both people and planet. The students at Ysgol Maes Y Gwendraeth have shown incredible maturity and engagement with the programme content, and I’m excited to see these young changemakers' projects and ideas develop over the next academic year.'

Claire Arnott, Head of Good Life Schools at Global Action Plan, said:

‘Having Good Life Schools featured on BBC Wales is a testament to the incredible work of the Good Life Schools community in South Wales. It's so inspiring to see young changemakers taking action during Welsh Climate Week by exploring what it means to lead happy, low-impact lives. It is a great reminder to us all that when it comes to happiness, less 'stuff' really is more! Da iawn Ysgol Maes Y Gwendraeth!’

Dr Morgan Phillips, Global Action Plan’s Director of Education and Youth Engagement, said:

‘Global Action Plan wants to see every child leave school ready to act together for the benefit of people and the planet. It was great to meet the young people at Ysgol Maes y Gwendreath - where the Good Life Schools programme has started, they are so enthusiastic about doing a project to tackle climate change’.

The Good Life Schools programme is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, Global Action Plan has received over £1.1m over three years from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK.

This grant comes from the Climate Action Fund, a £100 million commitment over 10 years from The National Lottery Community Fund to support communities across the UK to take action on climate change and involve more people in climate action. This forms part of one of the funder’s four key missions in its 2030 strategy, ‘It starts with community’ – supporting communities to be environmentally sustainable. 

Our thanks also go to our Good Life Schools partners, Carmarthenshire County Council for organising this opportunity with BBC Wales, and for the photography.

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