Falkirk pupils come up with plans to beat climate change

Launched in 2020, Fuel Change is focused on creating a carbon-neutral future for the next generation, designed by the next generation, through skills development.

Collaborating with Falkirk High during its Green Skills Week, Fuel Change challenged a group of S3 pupils to develop and present green solutions to common sustainability challenges such as food waste, fast fashion, and car use.

The group activities – supported by two Fuel Change Ambassadors and former Falkirk High pupils, Amy Geurts from Ineos Grangemouth, and Adam Hunter

from Forth Ports Limited – encouraged the pupils to increase their sustainability knowledge and skills by applying creative solutions to real-life challenges.

Fuel Change’s programme coordinator Anna Bell said: “The energy and enthusiasm given by the Falkirk High pupils was inspiring! What resonated most with them was

that these were real-life challenges that real-life organisations are trying to solve, and the creativity and quality of the solutions that the S3 Teams came up with were exceptional.

“Working in teams is something that this cohort of pupils has unfortunately missed out on over the past two years. This collaboration emphasised how creative challenges can push pupils to enhance their confidence and skills in communication, problem-solving and teamwork – all of which are key assets for prospective future employers.

"And what’s more, by working together to come up with simple but effective solutions to common sustainability issues, participants were able to expand their knowledge and understanding of vital climate issues.”

Falkirk High’s Liam Mason said: “Our S3s had a fantastic couple of days with the Fuel Change team. It was great to see the engagement we had from the pupils and some of the ideas from our young people were outstanding.

“Falkirk High has an ongoing partnership with Fuel Change and we are grateful to all of the team for inspiring our pupils to consider and engage with important climate related issues. The pupil feedback has been brilliant and we can’t begin organising our next event with Fuel Change!”