Posted on: Friday 7 July 2023
More than 100 pupils from a school in Cwmbran have campaigned to the Senedd to introduce a Clean Air Bill in Wales.
Students from the Federation of Blenheim Road and Coed Eva Community Primary Schools told members of the Environment and Infrastructure Committee at the Senedd that air pollution was a major concern everyone.
Evidence suggests CO2 emissions around schools directly affects air quality and children's health on their commute to school.
The pupils said that as a platinum flag eco school they believed it was important legislation was introduced to improve air quality across Wales.
Scarlett, a Year 2 pupil from CoedEva school, said, "We can all make a big change."
Jaxon, a Year 2 pupil at Blenheim, said, "Lots of my friends have asthma so we hope the Welsh Government will make air cleaner in Wales".
Paul Keane, Executive Headteacher at the Federation of Blenheim Road and CoedEva schools, said: “Changing our community and country for the better with daily small and incidental changes has empowered our learners to ask Welsh Government for legislation.
“Our learners take their role as citizens of Wales and the world extremely seriously, and this is an important step in their journey to being ethical and informed – a key purpose of our education here in Wales. Encouraging pupils to take an active role in our school and wider community is a great way of promoting the benefits of being in school regularly, as highlighted by the Not In Miss Out campaign.
“As a school, we will continue to lobby the Welsh Government to ensure the voices of our learners are reflected in the proposed forthcoming clean air bill.”
The campaign is just one of the ways pupils at the schools are actively trying to reduce pollution in their local communities.
Last year they were the first schools in Torfaen to adopt Active Travel School Plans to encourage children and staff to walk, cycle or scoot to school.
The school has also taken part in Walk to School Week, an initiative to encourage parents to leave their vehicles at home.
In addition, the schools eco committee have provided all pupils with the opportunity to taste Welsh lava bread, seaweed, which is a sustainable food, alongside introducing a vegetarian food option and pasta bar to the school canteen.
Reducing food waste and cutting energy consumption have been additional measures the school have undertaken this year.
This week is Net Zero Week which celebrates how carbon emissions can be reduced and offset to help tackle climate change.
Find out what Torfaen Council is doing to reduce carbon emissions on our website or follow #NetZeroWeek on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.