February 2023
JRF’s new Carbon Footprint Reduction Education Project got underway with young people developing skills and knowledge regarding climate change, through fortnightly Carbon Footprint Reduction Challenges, and a series of competitions and fun activities.
Funded by the CO₂Go Education Fund through Brent Council, the project aims to give young people the opportunity to learn more about the environment and the impact of climate change, and what steps they can take to reduce their carbon footprint.
As well as the Carbon Footprint Reduction Challenges, the project will engage young people through sport whilst ensuring key messages regarding climate change are delivered through Environmental Workshops.
Quarterly Climate Change Olympics will involve a series of competitions and fun activities including a speed litter picking ‘waste race’ and an environmental scavenger hunt.
The young participants have already got involved in a ‘Community Give Back’ day where local residents volunteered to pick up litter across the Stonebridge Estate, clean up the Community Centre, and plant pollinators in the raised wooden beds built and erected by a team from Groundwork London, led by Programme Manager, Adrian Osler.
Brent Council are focused on the borough playing it’s part in tackling climate change and improving air quality. By 2030 the aim is for Brent to be a carbon-neutral borough, and £500,000 has been provided to make resident’s homes more energy efficient and for community groups to run education programmes, such as JRF’s Carbon Footprint Reduction Education Project. They have installed over 21,000 energy efficient streetlights, fitted 515 electric vehicle charging points, planted 4533 trees, 22 wild-flower meadows, and bee corridors – all to help protect residents from harmful emissions.
JRF staff and volunteers, the young participants, and local residents, are all committed to contributing towards a cleaner, more attractive borough.
