50 young people from 6 Andover schools convened at the Andover Golf Club on Tuesday 10th March to take part in a Plant-for-the-Planet academy.
A United Nations Environment Program initiative with an ambitious goal – to fight the climate crisis by planting trees around the world – at Plant-for-the-Planet academies, children learn about the causes and consequences of the climate crisis, develop their own climate action plans, practice public speaking and plant their own trees.
The day was organised by Wendy Davis of Andover Trees United, and everything within the day including the presentations, climate activities and tree planting were led by 14 of our town’s already-trained ambassadors.
Andover Golf Club kindly donated their venue, made lunch for the children, and provided a location in which to plant the trees. Abel & Cole donated fruit for lunches and Andover Trees United brought along their team of volunteers and equipment.
Wendy Davis said:
We had a fantastic day, a great group of young people and a wonderful team of volunteers. We were delighted to be joined for most of the day by our Member of Youth Parliament, Dmitrijs Meiksans, as well as members of the Andover Vision team, allowing us to showcase some of the climate action that is already being done in the town ahead of Andover’s day of climate action on April 24th. We are extremely grateful for Andover Golf Club’s continued support, this being the 5th year we’ve held the academy there, and of course to Abel & Cole for their continued support of Andover Trees’ work.
Climate Justice Ambassadors are aged 8-14 and train at academies worldwide, the total number of Andover ambassadors now totals 300. This really is something for Andover to be proud of!
When learning to be ambassadors for climate justice, the take-home message to the children is that they don’t need to wait until others do something to begin to take action but, with the support of their parents, teachers and community groups like Andover Trees United, they can courageously take action right now and actively shape their future. Whether that be by giving presentations in their community, arranging fundraising events, arranging tree plantings or writing to the government.
For more information about Andover Trees United, visit www.andovertrees.org.uk. For Plant-for-the-Planet, click here.
Photo: Plant-for-the-Planet 2020 climate game
