Five London secondary schools have each been awarded £10,000 by Sadiq Khan to help them accelerate student-led environmental projects.
Following his return from the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow earlier this week, the Mayor of London announced the winners of the Climate Kick-Start Prize at an event at the Barbican this morning.
Forest Gate Community School in Newham, Francis Barber Referral Unit in Wandsworth, Hammersmith Academy, Pinner High School and Riverside Bridge School in Barking and Dagenham were all announced as the recipients of the grant money for their project ideas, which included a healthy food outdoor kitchen and solar powered rainwater harvesting.
Ahead of the event, Sadiq Khan said that the initiative is about “engaging young people to help us make London one of the greenest and cleanest global cities”.
Mr Khan said: “In London, we’re taking bold action to tackle the twin dangers of air pollution and the climate crisis. As part of this, I’m pleased to announce the Climate Kick-Start prize winners, who will be able to use the prize money to not only deliver a range of innovative projects to take vital environmental action in their schools, but to inspire other young Londoners to get involved in climate action.”
In addition to announcing the winners of the Climate Kick-Start Prize, Mr Khan also announced a new £1.5 million partnership between City Hall, the Department for Education and Thames Water to bolster the climate resilience of 100 schools in London.
Analysis from City Hall published earlier this year found that up to a fifth of London’s schools are susceptible to flooding.
The new fund will prioritise those schools most at risk of flooding and will contribute towards things such as improving drainage to prevent surface water flooding and making improvements to water efficiency.
