
Open Planet and Protect Our Future announce winner of ‘Use Your Voice’ competition
Open Planet, together with Protect Our Future, a climate education programme of the 1851 Trust, are thrilled to announce Lenzie Academy, a secondary school in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland as the winner of the ‘Use Your Voice’ competition.
The Use Your Voice campaign aims to inspire young people to engage with climate education and empower them to take action using communication skills. The competition invited students globally to create and submit videos that showcase their passion for tackling climate change. Schools were given resources to help equip students with the tools and knowledge to speak confidently about climate change and to tell stories that can drive positive action within their own communities.
The students from Lenzie Academy secondary school captured the hearts and minds of judges with their passionate short films on climate action, created using footage from Open Planet: a free online library of over 12,000 powerful and inspiring film clips showing environmental issues and solutions. Open Planet is free to use for charities, schools and scientists wanting to tell their own stories and inspire climate action.
Lenzie Academy will invest the £1,000 prize in an educational initiative focused on championing sustainability and biodiversity by building an apiary to host beehives on their school grounds.
Heather Ellis, Teacher at Lenzie Academy:
“We encouraged our pupils to enter this competition to drive positive change in our community. We felt the ‘Use Your Voice’ concept was very empowering and helped highlight the impact an individual can have. The project provided an innovative and engaging way for them to learn about climate change, allowing learners to explore environment and social impacts while developing creative solutions for a sustainable future.”
Emily Renshaw-Smith, Executive Director of Operations at Open Planet:
“It’s vital young people have the tools, access and opportunities needed to creatively and confidently tell their climate stories. We hope the brilliant films produced for this competition inspire a new wave of young storytellers to use their voice for our planet.”
Explore the winning entries
Watch the full library of Use Your Voice winning submissions from Lenzie Academy.
Explore"I think young people need to get involved because the world will be left to them. The problems we face now could get worse if we do not work together. I wanted to use my ICT skills to encourage others to get involved in fighting the climate crisis. It is a global problem, and we need to work together to combat it."
— Matthieu, age 13, Lenzie Academy
"I wanted to be heard, and I wanted to help in the fight against climate change. I think it is important that the younger generations use their voices to spread awareness to help combat the climate crisis and help fix the mistakes of the past."
— Callum, age 13, Lenzie Academy
Protect Our Future is a climate education programme from the 1851 Trust, an educational charity that supports young people and teachers through free to access sport-inspired STEM and climate education. Protect Our Future works with elite athletes including Eliud Kipchoge, Chemmy Alcott, Hussain Alireza, and Hannah Mills who are using their voice to inspire climate action and drive behavioural change to support the next generation to take meaningful action. Watch their stories here
A recent survey by 1851 Trust and environmental charity Hubbub revealed more than half of children are worried about what the planet will be like in the future.
The Protect Our Future education programme serves as a resource for educators, helping teachers support their students in developing essential skills in climate storytelling and science communication. By integrating the Use Your Voice resources into the curriculum, educators are giving students an invaluable opportunity to explore how their actions and voices can influence the future, and inspiring young people to feel confident in using their voices to discuss climate action.
The 1851 Trust STEM and climate education programmes connect digital resources, in-person events and career pathways, empowering young people regardless of background or gender to become the innovators of the future and create success in STEM and Green skill careers.
Jo Grindley, CEO of 1851 Trust:
“We want young people to feel empowered to be part of the climate conversation by giving students a platform to express their views. Not only does this competition support the students in developing skills to speak confidently about climate change, but it also encourages them to take real action within their communities.”
To find out more about the Use Your Voice challenge and get your school involved, visit Protect Our Future.