Supporting our communities

In November 2024, the Council’s Climate Change & Sustainability team attended Runnymede Junior Citizen at Thorpe Park. Across two weeks, the team were able to engage around 950 year six students from schools across the borough on climate and environmental issues, while helping them to imagine a healthier, happier future for our planet. 

This was done through using Climate Dice an engaging storytelling dice game that inspires players to reimagine a better life on planet Earth. Climate Dice are a tool to talk to children about climate change safely, to support eco- anxiety and enable them to discuss their fears and hopes for a better world. Every class that attended Junior Citizen took away a set of Climate Dice to continue developing new stories in the classroom. 

The students that took part in Junior Citizen came up with hundreds of stories related to climate action and encouraging sustainability. Below are just a few of our favourites:

• Once upon a time, humans ruined the world. They drove cars, they transformed the air to smoke but over time someone spoke up. The protesters wanted a change! We started recycling plastic, we grew plants to restore fresh air and new animals formed. The earth was once again beautiful. 
• Mr Bee is getting some food for his family. “Oh no” Mr Bee thinks about all the dangers in the world, the main one being global warming. He also thought about the things we can do to help. Re-use, save water, and walking to places. We came along and did all those things and Mr Bee was very happy. 
• The shark saw a floating, shiny fish on the surface of the cold sea. “Great” he thought, “It’s already dead”. He swam elegantly up to the surface, before biting down on his dinner. There was a terrible crunch as his teeth sank into the PLASTIC?!
• Once I was running to work as I was late. I stopped as I saw a protest about climate change. I learnt animal habitats are getting destroyed and animals like sharks are becoming extinct. Now I know one way to stop this is by using green electricity like solar panels and wind turbines. 
• Time is running out! The ice in Antarctica is melting so creatures like sharks are becoming endangered. We need to write a new story. One that can save our one and only world. We can invent electric cars so we will not need petrol. We will plant new life and rebuild our forest. This is our beautiful Earth – our Home. It is up to us to save it. 
• Once upon a time there were two children called Barley and Max. They campaigned to save the world. They rode around the neighbourhood. Seeing this, people started to realise about how they were hurting the earth and the animals. So, therefore they stopped using fossil fuels and started using things sustainably. Climate change is affecting us all but it is the poorest countries who suffer the most. 
• Once upon a time, there was a factory making planes but emitting bad carbon footprints hurting nature. The aeroplane was going to Singapore and on the way they had a pitstop in Borneo where they met Mr Kherumbay the orangutan who was wise and told them to stop using fossil fuels to make energy. So he told us to make solar panels and wind turbines to help the world. This will help us resolve worldwide problems. We now use solar panelled aeroplanes!
• There once was a sailor who sailed on a boat. He learnt about climate change and it sparked his mind to recycle and write a song to help save nature and animals. He sails the world helping animals to make a change for we are all equal and we are all a life to fight for. 
• Too many cars are causing global warming and melting the polar ice caps. I am writing to the government to ask them to save the animals and stop the ice caps from melting. I am going to plant my own vegetables to help prevent lorries on the road. 
• Somebody wrote about the earth getting hotter and the negative stuff about climate change. He sailed to the mountains where there was much ice melting caused by climate change. When the people found out, they started protesting about the climate. There was limited time to stop it, so the humans protested more and then the government decides to change things and the nations work together. Then the people and animals lived happily. 
• Once upon a time there was a man in a car. Wherever he went, he would litter and use fossil fuels. Little did he know he was affecting the whole penguin community in the Antarctic. One day the man saw an advert that explained to him what he was doing was wrong. The next day he changed for the good.