Climate learning and young people: the balance between engagement and wellbeing
The prioritisation of wellbeing in climate learning is always important, particularly so when working with young people. Secondary school students are among those set to be most impacted by climate change, with big questions looming about their future and what a warming planet will mean for them as adults. It’s therefore vital that they’re able to learn about what’s happening to the climate and why. It’s important however, that their mental health and overall wellbeing is centred in these conversations. Alongside that, we must make sure the onus isn’t on them to fix everything. While it’s truly inspiring to see the activism and action coming out of the youth climate movement, this is not their mess, and we should not be making them feel like we expect them to clear it up.
Mount St Mary’s Catholic High School – why Carbon Literacy?
Mount St Mary’s is at the start of its journey towards decarbonisation. Much of the school is housed in a former convent and orphanage, dating back to 1853. While this makes for a beautiful campus, it also means a large portion of the buildings are listed, and their single-glazed windows and draughty corridors mean they’re not very energy efficient.
To address these issues, they are about to start work on a large new building on the site. The building itself will be Net Zero, and the government’s Biodiversity Net Gain regulations mean that the school and its students can look forward to access to more green space once the work is complete.
This huge undertaking is being fully funded by the school’s corporate partner, global law firm DLA Piper International. The firm have been supporting the school for several years (in collaboration with the Ahead Partnership) and are funding this work as part of their social value programme.
Speak Carbon have also been working with DLA Piper International since 2021, so when we started rolling out our ‘Carbon Literacy for 11-18 year olds’ programme, we got in touch and asked them if they would like to fund its delivery in the school. Mount St Mary’s were keen to give their students this opportunity to gain a globally recognised Carbon Literacy certification, and engaging their young people on climate is a priority for them now more than ever. The work on the new build is about to start and so it’s key that the student body understands the value of a new, Net Zero building and what that means for the school’s wider sustainability strategy. DLA Piper International were delighted to be able to fund this Carbon Literacy project alongside the development work happening on campus.
Suzi Cameron, Community Programmes Supervisor at DLA Piper International had this to say about the Firm’s work with Mount St Mary’s:
“It’s been wonderful to work with Mount St Mary’s over the years, running programmes such as MyExperience@ City Square House (with Ahead Partnership) which enabled us to offer students valuable exposure to a range of professionals, career pathways, roles, and to build knowledge of essential employability skills whilst also learning about sustainability. The work with Speak Carbon complimented this, by providing deeper learning around sustainability and how their actions can have a meaningful impact in their communities”.
The training
In June 2025, I delivered Carbon Literacy training to 27 year-nine students at Mount St Mary’s. I spent two Thursday mornings with the students, working through our ‘Carbon Literacy for 11-18 year olds’ course. This is one of very few accredited Carbon Literacy courses available for secondary school students. It is designed to centre empowerment and wellbeing, while giving students the knowledge they need to meaningfully engage in climate conversations in their homes, school and communities.
From my perspective, the sessions were fun, challenging and thought-provoking. The questions the students ask were some of the most insightful I’ve had and showed a real desire to get to grips with this complex subject.
An activity that is unique to this course is the ‘Postcards from the future’ exercise. I asked the students to imagine it was the future; they are grown up, living in a world where we’ve tackled climate change and some of the interconnected issues the world in facing in the present. What does their day-to-day life look like? What do they spend their time doing? What careers do they have? The optimism and creativity shown in these pieces of work was really humbling, making this moment in the course one of my most memorable as a facilitator to date. Read the students’ postcards here.
Outcomes
As part of the course, the students decided what pledges they would make to spread awareness and reduce emissions at home, at school and in their communities. One of these pledges was chosen as our July Pledge of the Month.
The pledges the students made were fantastic. From talking to their families about meal planning and plant-based food options, to collaborating with faith groups to improve energy efficiency in their churches. The variety and ambition showcased by the pledges truly reflected the level of engagement shown by the students throughout the course.
Following the sessions, we asked the students ’What bit(s) of the course did you enjoy the most and why?’
They said:
Heather West, Year Leader for Year 9, had this to say about the project:
“It was fantastic to see the students so engaged in such a meaningful project. Watching them write pledges about the future and the environment they live in was incredibly powerful. The carbon project raised awareness across the school about how we can all do better in looking after our planet. In particular, it helped students understand the importance of building sustainable schools for the future, especially in the context of our new build.”
What’s next?
It’s no secret that schools have little or no extra budget to spend on paying external training providers to deliver this sort of training. This is why we’ve developed this model of working with corporate clients to fund these projects in schools. Law firms and other professional services companies often have schools that they support and sponsor in this way and funding this kind of work can be really impactful in strengthen those relationships.
Following the success of this project, we’re now talking to our other corporate clients about replicating this model with other schools.
If you have capacity to deliver training within your school, and are already CL trained, you can access our 11-18s course free of charge.
Get in touch with us to find out more.