On the 28th of June, member Dominic Gardner and facilitator Tammy braved the classroom once again to participate in a local Eco-Summit for local children.
The EYE Project, which stands for eco, young and engaged, was set up in 2008 by Tim Loughton, MP at the time. The aim of the EYE project is to help empower young people to drive environmental change, through connecting local organisations and businesses and projects. As well as projects in schools, every year they host an Eco-Summit for local school children. This year the Adur and Worthing Eco-Summit was held at Shoreham Academy, a brilliant venue for the occasion, with 120 children of primary and secondary age coming from 11 schools around the district. This year’s theme was think globally, act locally, with a focus on the local environment. More information on the EYE Project can be found here – https://eyeproject.co.uk/.
The Arun to Adur Farmers Group joined 20 other organisations who were running workshops and stalls to show children and young adults what is being done locally to combat climate change and restore nature, as well as what they could do to help to make a real difference. We joined a varied group including poets, kite surfers and footballers.
Our message was simple, ‘Buy British, Local and Seasonal Food’ where you can. We took a variety of different foods and spoke about how they are produced in the UK. We also took lots of examples of what our farmers are doing out in the fields which surround them to make a difference and increase biodiversity. From hedgerow corridors to bird feeding and intergraded pest management, we covered lots in a short space of time. It was also great to hear all about what the schools are doing as well, including some ambitious school gardens.
After our two workshops were finished, at the end of the day, we joined everyone in the assembly hall to conclude the day. Groups were asked about their favourite part of the day and what they would take away, we got two mentions which was lovely to hear.
