Young people get my Eco-Factor vote

Society is on a steep learning curve about environmental damage and what steps we need to take to reduce the effects of climate change.

Young people are at the forefront of ‘green’ education, which is why I am involved in a project in Birmingham helping them dream up creative ideas to raise awareness of climate change in their communities and make them a reality.

I am a co-director of First Class Youth/ E.ngage, which specialises in engaging with young people and local communities. We are working with Family Housing Association, and Urban Living (Pathfinder), on a project called Eco Factor.

The Eco Factor is taking place in South Lozells – an inner city, culturally diverse area of Birmingham that is the focus of significant regeneration and development activity. Eco Factor raises awareness of climate change by encouraging young people to develop fresh ideas about green issues and present them to a panel of judges in the hope of winning £500.

We’ve hit the streets to recruit more than 20 youngsters, aged between 12 and 18, who are showing how environmentally aware young people can be and raising the profile of the green issues they want to bring to people’s attention.

Many environmental issues are in line with mainstream education but the Eco Factor is a great route for young people to apply what they are learning at school.

The project started in September, and we’re midway through a series of workshops which are being held two evenings a week at a local school. The workshops enable the groups of young people to develop the presentation skills and confidence necessary to participate.

During interactive workshops in October, teams were formed and training was undertaken on eco issues/climate change, teamwork, presentation skills and arts and crafts – these skills were then employed as the teams worked together on their Eco Factor presentations. Five teams of young people developed music, dances, visual presentations and many other ideas. The high levels of innovation impressed the panel of industry experts and made judging even more difficult.

If we were to repeat the project, I would like to open it up nationally, based on the positive response, feedback and enthusiasm expressed by the young people involved. It would be great to be able to roll the project on to another stage and for the participants to develop their ideas even further.

Family Housing Association (FHA) is working on some exciting environmental projects in Birmingham so it is a perfect partner to have on board for the Eco Factor, as it is able to promote the scheme to its tenants and other community groups. FHA is working with Urban Living, the Birmingham and Sandwell part of a government initiative to regenerate areas of the UK, on a number of Eco Projects and Urban Living is funding the Eco Factor.

The range of work that FHA is doing with local communities and partners to raise awareness about climate change issues and tackle fuel poverty is great and demonstrates that housing providers take far further reaching responsibilities on board than being a landlord alone.

You never know what to expect when you run a project like this, but so far the first stages of the Eco-Factor have been exciting. This is the first project I have worked on based around the eco-agenda but following its success, it is definitely an area of engagement that can be taken much further.