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Global Action Plan Generation Action Intern Camilla Sheaves joined Good Life Schools students from Carmarthenshire on a visit to the Senedd. Here, she shares her experience of the day.

Young people are powerful. Some actions might seem small or even pointless, but combined they cause ripples of change.

I accompanied Good Life Schools students to the Senedd (the Welsh parliament), which is an excellent example of sustainability and democracy. Officially opened in 2006, the design of the Senedd includes many clever sustainable design features.

Predominantly Welsh-sourced materials form its attractive shape, which is designed to direct rain into the internal plumbing of the building, as well as make the best use of natural light with a huge funnel that leads directly into the main debating chamber. From geothermal heat to light sensors, there are many innovations that make this incredible building as sustainable as possible.

This building clearly took my breath away, but this wasn’t the reason for my visit. I had been invited to attend Carmarthenshire’s Climate Action Group’s termly meeting. This incredible privilege is due to Louise Morgan’s (our Carmarthenshire Good Life Schools Lead) hard work in connecting the schools and organising these meetings.

The attending school groups are also fully involved in the planning and running of these meetings. The students formally chair the meeting, keep minutes which are reviewed at each meeting, and present the progress on their projects.

Once again, this generation’s ability to explore, present and deliver on environmental issues that they care about is inspiring. (I was a young animal rights advocate but shamefully ignorant to all other global issues.)  

It was a wonderful surprise to meet Lee Waters MS for Llanelli, who also attended the meeting. He came to answer any questions the children might have about the Senedd and the role of a MS. He also took part in the meeting and asked question at the end of each presentation, helping groups to think deeper about their projects. Sitting with him was Councillor Aled Vaughan Owen, cabinet member for Climate Change. And from Swansea University, Dr Jennifer Rudd and Shannon O’Connor.  

Ysgol Bro Dinefwr chaired this term’s meeting. The two young people selected for this task were calm, confident and professional. They effectively maintained order and communication throughout.  

The first school to present was Ysgol Penrhos. This primary school updated us on the progress of their school menu pilot. Informing us about a healthy food course that informed their research. The aim of this course was to learn about how to cook healthy and sustainable meals.  
In order to examine what their school’s opinion was on school meals they ran a survey which showed that more than 50% of students found most meals to be boring and unhealthy. This group suggested growing a food garden as a way to have more locally sourced ingredients.

During the Q&A session, Councillor Cllr Aled Vaughan Owen suggested putting each meal’s carbon footprint on the school meals as incentive. Could this be a practical solution to store bought food too?  

Ysgol Coedcae were the second school to present, also discussing school meals.  

Their focus was more on food variety and inclusivity, mentioning the necessity to include meals for people with alternative diets. They had researched school meals in other countries to find that these were often considered important, healthy options. They suggested the possibility of a vegetable garden to engage students more in trying new things.  

Third was Ysgol Bryngwyn, whose focus was on reducing food waste in schools. They presented their research on the issues with food waste and how this related to their school. After carefully identifying the best locations, they installed bins in all the corridors and classrooms. They informed us that clear signposting had really helped and that their schools had never looked cleaner.  

This group had also identified that the main problems were compliance of students and staff putting waste in the correct bin. Therefore, their next steps are to trial different methods which could encourage better compliance.  

The next school to follow was Ysgol Maes y Gwendraeth who updated the group on their Good Life School project.  

They began with an introduction to the Good Life Schools programme, explaining that in critically exploring how marketing techniques influence what they buy, they became aware of the huge impact mobile phones and social media have.

They told us about a workshop they attended with Dr. Stephanie Mathews from the 'Young Darwinian Project', which taught them about how microplastics enter the environment from our clothes. They finished by informing us on future encounters with Bronwen Gwilym and Daisy Buckley, which will certainly help shape their Good Life Schools project.

It was then Ysgol QEH’s turn, who talked on the issue of fast fashion. They mentioned a problem that I had never considered: the waste from charity shops. They explained that if clothes aren’t bought, they end up getting sent to a textiles dump, where they are often disposed of ineffectively, releasing toxins and pollutants into the environment.  

They have come up with a lovely solution to this waste: plushies. These are teddy bears which can then be sold to make profits which go back into funding their initiative.  

The final school to present was Ysgol Ffwrnes. They delivered a comprehensive plan that was aimed at improving energy efficiency in their school. They explained the issues from unnecessary use of electricity and heat, to improving equipment to gain efficiency. They offered clear, realistic solutions and informed us that they have already made big savings from the changes they have started to implement.  

These young people are just one example of one county in Wales.  

There are many more school initiatives that are pushing for change around the country. I know that we still have a long way to go, but it is important to stop and notice what amazing people are achieving today, now.  

If you feel lost, frustrated or unmotivated by the slow progress of our politicians, don’t forget to look around your local community and find the incredible actions that are likely already happening.”   

The trip was also covered on television, you can watch here:

English transcript:

We start today in Cardiff Bay, where a group of pupils have taken their climate change message to the Welsh Parliament. The Carmarthenshire Climate Action Group is working on reducing carbon emissions and is hoping more people will follow their example. I went over to hear more:

Climate change. The most powerful people in the world discussing how to reduce carbon emissions. It's an issue that is discussed on several platforms. This week, it was the turn of schools in the Carmarthenshire area to take their message to the Senedd in Cardiff Bay.

"It's an incredible experience. I have never been here before. It's great to see the place and come together as a county to discuss things. It's really nice. We have come together today as schools to talk about what we have been doing as a project to improve the community and to get different ideas and maybe collect new ideas."

"It's a nice opportunity to come here and see the Senedd and things."

Yes, the Climate Action Group is discussing and taking action on reducing food waste in order to introduce green energy in schools.

"We have been discussing the Energy Sparks in the Senedd. And the Energy Sparks charity and the things we did in the class to change climate change and things. We have been collecting carbon to measure how much carbon is in the corridors and classrooms."

"We have enjoyed seeing the 'Turn off the lights and switches' posters and using the chrome book and iPads."

"My favourite thing was collecting carbon from rubbish."

"It would be nice to see people listening to us because then they would be able to see what we are doing to help our community. It would be nice to see more people listening to us."

Spreading their work and their message, this group is hoping to go far by doing that.