Cornwall & CoP26
funded by the AHRC-UKRI
Climate and ecological emergencies have been declared globally. Coastal communities will be amongst the most vulnerable to climate change impacts. In the Southwest of the UK, rising sea levels, CO2-driven acidification, warming and plastic pollution are altering marine ecosystems that are already in decline, radically threatening the future of the coast.
>Children & young people are at the forefront of these challenges, which pose tangible risks to their living environments and future lives. Their voices should thus be central to policy and conservation efforts aimed at tackling climate change. Instead, children & young people in coastal communities continue to feel unheard and cut out from both local and national debates on their coastal environments.
Waves of Change has been working with a group of young people in Newquay, Cornwall, to engage them in conversations on climate change and encourage them to take positive action. These young people have written, illustrated and co-produced the short animation above, “Cornwall is Sinking” that tells a hopeful story about the coast, the ocean and their future.
“The coast is our home. We love the beach, and we want to protect it.”
Polly and Matilda, 16 years old
Our young participants were invited to take part in CoP26 in Glasgow, where they shared a key message with world leaders: “we are willing to do our part – are you willing to do yours?”
This project is conducted in partnership with Young People Cornwall, an organisation dedicated to promoting young people’s inclusion and wellbeing through co-designed development programmes.
The project was funded by an AHRC Engaging Young People in Climate Change Research.CoP26 Grant.
Photographs by Ben Battell
Extras
Making of by Ben Battell
Interview at COP26
