Our story
The involvement and representation of young people in Cumbria on climate action and sustainability is seen as significant in achieving the aims of the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership (ZCCP): making Cumbria a carbon-neutral county by 2037. The ZCCP is a large, Cumbria-wide project that is funded by the National Lottery's Climate Action Fund, co-led by Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS) and Cumbria County Council (CCC) and over 90 organisations and community groups who are leading the change.
In 2019, Robert Ferguson Primary School organised the first Youth Climate Summit in Cumbria. Its success and continuing interest from schools and young people in climate action led to CAfS committing to continue the summits within youth strands of work for the ZCCP. For the third Youth Climate Summit for Cumbria, CAfS and Cumbria Development Education Centre (CDEC) ran the event to coincide with COP26 in Glasgow. Awareness of the significance of the outcomes of COP26 helped to inform the value of the young people's recommendations at local and regional level feeding into the national and global picture.
A key aim of each summit is for it to be youth-led in planning content as well as facilitating the event itself. Leading up to the summit, young people are invited to take part in a youth steering group, they meet for an hour a week over 6 weeks. Local speakers are invited to share with the group details of their sustainability projects. The group discusses their ideas for the summit, informing the type of workshops they feel young people of different ages would benefit from in taking part. Schools across the county are invited to attend each summit.
Hosted at various venues across Cumbria, and organised by CDEC and Futureproof Cumbria our climate summits allow young people to develop their knowledge, share learning, hear from experts and take part in workshops, typically co-delivered by 3 young people from the steering group. There are also opportunities for schools to share what they do and to inspire. Young participants focus on ideas for change within their schools and communities, before feeding these into their climate action recommendations for Cumbria. Recommendations have included: improving cycling lanes and public transport infrastructure; broadening access to community-wide recycling systems; encouraging schools to go plastic-free in their canteens; encouraging wildlife havens in school grounds and in abandoned urban spaces; and providing more support for individuals and organisations to make sustainable choices.
In February 2025 five students developed a series of asks as part of their Dream Placement at Futureproof Cumbria, with support from Cumbria Development Education Centre. The Commitment asks schools, local authorities, community groups and businesses to commit to work together on a series of actions relating to food in schools.
Our advice
While climate change is concerning for all, eco-anxiety can be particularly experienced by young people who can feel less empowered to make change and yet most at risk of impact in their futures. In a 2021 global survey nearly 60% of young people said they felt very worried or extremely worried, whilst more than 45% of those questioned said feelings about the climate affected their daily lives.
The need for support of young people remains ongoing. We would recommend constructing opportunities for young people linked to "constructive hope": the chance to learn, share ideas and inspiration and make small but meaningful positive changes.
1) Summit design should be youth-led where possible
For most impact, young people will be involved in decision-making and the organisation of the event, including its content, choice of speakers and projected outcomes. Their input will be valued on the day, from hosting to helping to facilitate workshops and support other young participants. This will help to ensure the event is most relevant to young people's thinking and needs. It is also great in supporting the development of an important transferable skillset including organisation, creativity, deliberation and analytical thinking.
2) Collaborative
The subject of climate change can be bewildering and upsetting. It is important to offer expert guidance and advice. We would recommend that the event has clear aims, opportunities for discussion of anxieties or concerns and a focus on "constructive hope" so that involvement is positive and empowering.
We would suggest collaboration with different organisations, including workshop input, so that a varied perspective of projects and opportunities can be shared and integrated in work going forward. Our workshops include input from CDEC, Fellfoot Forward: Landscape Partnership Scheme, the Council and Eco-Schools.
3) Make it meaningful
It's important that young people feel that their involvement in each summits and its outcomes are meaningful. Workshops are designed around their needs, eg, focused on activism; resilience; aimed at providing supportive and tangible ways in which young people can act; breaking down actions into manageable stepspersonal commitment for a change.
Our Changeprint
Our Changeprint can be measured by the number of young people (8-17) and schools involved in summits, steering groups, and workshops each year; the number of teachers/headteachers attending; the proportion of summit sessions, workshops, or actions designed and delivered by young people themselves; the number of practical initiatives or commitments adopted by schools, local authorities and community groups as a result of summit recommendations; the percentage of participants reporting increased climate knowledge, confidence to take action, and reduced eco-anxiety after taking part.
