This week pupils from schools across Britain are being invited to take part in a nationwide award scheme with the chance to win a pound;40,000 trip of a lifetime. The Barclaycard LivingLand Awards, run in conjunction with the Young People’s Trust for the Environment, aims to change the way future generations see the world. The competition will allow budding young David Bellamys and Shauna Lowrys to dream up their own class projects based on environmental, wildlife, conservation or ecology themes.
Winners will mingle with celebrities and wildlife at an awards ceremony held at Whipsnade Zoo in March 2003. Britain’s greenest school will walk away with a pound;40,000 environmental trip of its choice and five runners-up will win a week-long residential course in Dorset or the Lake District.
Patron of the YPTE, Rolf Harris, said: “The future of our planet lies in the hands of the next generation. If we’re to have any hope of saving our environment we need to enlist the help of our nation’s bright young things.”
The awards highlight the growing concern about the damage already done to the environment and the alarming degree of apathy and environmental ignorance among children. A recent survey of environmental knowledge commissioned by Barclaycard LivingLand showed that 97 per cent of 8-11 year olds in the UK had never heard of global warming and almost half of those questioned in the UK could not name an endangered species. For a full list of project suggestions, and more details on how to enter, download the Curriculum Guide from www.yptenc.org.uk or call the Young People’s Trust for the Environment on 01483 539 600 to request a printed copy.
