Lotus School in Blackpool wins climate change poster competition organised by Blackpool Council and Robertson Construction North West

Lotus School on Langdale Road in Mereside came top of the environmental poster competition which was held by Blackpool Council and Robertson Construction North West.

The competition’s aim was to encourage young people in Blackpool to think about the town’s climate emergency, with high school students being tasked with creating a poster to inspire people to take action on the climate emergency and to give a clear message of the benefits of a low-carbon world.

The top five designs have been displayed in the centre of Blackpool, surrounding the new four-star Holiday Inn development which is being delivered by Robertson Construction North West.

A student from Lotus School won the top prize in the competition, and the winning school was given five trees including two Oak, two Lime and one Turkish Hazel, which have recently been planted within the school grounds to foster further links to the environment and assist with their carbon reduction.

The winner and the four runners-up from Educational Diversity and Highfield Leadership Academy also received a family pass to Merlin attractions with a goodie bag.

Melanie Kelsall, Headteacher at Lotus School, said: “We are incredibly proud of the students at Lotus School and are pleased that the Thrive class have been able to successfully represent the school in this competition.

“The young people are increasingly aware of their own impacts on the environment and are taking pride in their school environments and local communities to reduce their own carbon footprint and highlight how the environment can be positively impacted in and around Blackpool by both locals and tourists.

“The young people have produced some wonderful work for this campaign, and they are overjoyed that it has been selected for use in and around Blackpool.”

Runner-up, Ted said: “I am really pleased I came runner-up in the competition as I wanted to show people they can get involved with saving our planet. In our lessons, we talk about how we only get one planet and how we should look after it, so I hope my poster helps everybody to think about how brilliant Blackpool is and take care of it.”

The competition entries addressed environmental topics such as recycling, preventing littering, plant-based diet, buying local, protecting marine life and improving air quality.

Judges included members from Blackpool Council, Muse Developments, Robertson Construction and Blackpool Youth Climate Action Group.

Cllr Jane Hugo, Blackpool Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change, said: “It has been wonderful to see the response to the competition which shows how deeply young people feel about climate change and their environment.

“The competition had a high standard of entries and I know that it wasn’t an easy decision so very well done to the winner and the runners-up. They should be very proud to see their posters being displayed on the hoardings of a key regeneration site in the town centre.

“When we declared a climate emergency on 26 June 2019, we recognised the impact of climate change around the world and declared that we must take action in Blackpool.

“We are committed to working with businesses such as Robertson as well as residents and partners across the town to make a real change to tackle the climate emergency.”

Dirk Pittaway, regional managing director, Robertson Construction North West, said: “As the partner of choice for the regeneration of Talbot Gateway with the council and Muse Developments, we not only want to involve the local community in what we are doing, but have a responsibility to deliver the project with minimal environmental impact.

“As one of the first UK businesses in the built environment to achieve carbon neutrality, we are committed to promoting ways in which we can all be more environmentally aware. We have gone on to become a climate positive business and by working with the schools through this competition we have been able to share our learnings and hopefully encourage future generations about the positive actions that they can take to help protect the local and wider environment.”