Earlier this year, Eco Squads from two primary schools completed a social action project with Blackpool FC Community Trust (BFCCT) as part of the Premier League Primary Stars’ ‘Protect the Planet’ scheme.

Layton and Stanley Primary Schools took part in the initiative, which is linked to the ‘Big Plastic Count’.

That is a national programme to raise awareness of how much plastic we use and how much non-recyclable plastic there is.

The Eco Squads in the schools consisted of KS2 children who participated in a six-week programme designed to encourage youth-led social action projects.

Layton and Stanley Primary Schools completed a social action project with BFCCT Picture: Blackpool FC Community Trust

placeholder image — Layton and Stanley Primary Schools completed a social action project with BFCCT Picture: Blackpool FC Community Trust

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Over the six weeks, the group learned about different challenges that the planet and environment are facing.

They also looked at different ways to travel economically, air and plastic pollution, and at ways to make sustainable swaps.

Then, they researched how the schools could be more sustainable and created their own social action project to help improve the schools’ carbon footprint and become more environmentally sustainable.

The Big Plastic Count is the UK’s largest survey into household plastic waste.

The children from both schools used different ways to encourage their classmates to participate in the Big Plastic Count.

They created posters for their classes and homes to remind families to take part in the Big Plastic Count.

By doing this they helped to generate a KS2 footprint to show how much plastic was used and thrown away in a week.

Across both schools, the pupils recorded 11,688 pieces of plastic that had been dispensed of during that week.

With these results, they wrote a letter to their local MP, using their knowledge from the Protect the Planet lessons to express the damage plastic is doing to the world and what they hope to see in the future.

The team identified different ways pupils could travel to school and ensured each class had a recycling bin.

Protect the Planet is also in partnership with #IWILL which helps young people to create change in their local communities through youth-led social action.

For further information on BFCCT and the services it provides, visit their website at bfcct.co.uk or phone 01253 348691.