Ahead of Wales Climate Week next month, the Welsh Government transformed Wales’ largest sustainable tourism destination, Bluestone, into a living classroom. Local pupils rolled up their sleeves to plant, recycle and explore new ways to live sustainably.
Year 5 and 6 pupils from Ysgol Bro Penfro, Ysgol Casblaidd, and Ysgol Caer Elen took part in workshops designed to show how we can eat, grow and use our land more sustainably. They also had the chance to share their ideas, ask questions, and make pledges for the future — pledges that will feed directly into Welsh Government climate planning.
Plenty of exciting and innovative ideas were shared by children at the workshops, from eating more vegetables to wasting less and even buying food from local farmers. Rebecca, 10 from Ysgol Caer Elen said:
“Today I’ve learned where our food really comes from and how far it travels to get to Wales. It’s made me realise how important it is to eat local food and support the farmers who grow it. My favourite part was planning a meal for our school and trying new vegetables – it’s made me like them a lot more!”
The workshops, designed and run in partnership with Bluestone, Size of Wales, Food Sense Wales, Castell Howell Foods, Green Up Farm and the National Farmers’ Union for Wales, brought Wales’ next generation into this year’s national conversation on how we use our land, grow our food, and care for nature.
Pupils planted their own micro herbs, designed their dream sustainable school dinners, learned about deforestation, took part in quizzes about growing in Wales and created colourful posters aimed at encouraging others to eat more local veg.
Feedback from the Year 5 and 6 pupils will feed directly into future Welsh Government decision-making on climate change, ensuring the voices of those who will live with the long-term impacts of today’s choices are heard and represented.
Huw Irranca-Davies, Deputy First Minister for Wales and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, rolled up his own sleeves to get stuck in with the children at the Wales Climate Week workshop. He said:
“Seeing pupils get hands-on and excited about climate action was inspiring. Their voices will be used to help inform future policies and programmes to support communities, nature and our economy.
“And this event is just the start – we want to hear more from our young people, and from communities across Wales, on the issues that impact them most. We launched the Climate Conversations Fund to support and facilitate those conversations, anyone interested in holding their own event is encouraged to apply.”
Bluestone National Park Resort hosted the event. The five-star sustainable destination is the first holiday park in the UK to be completely fossil fuel free on purchased energy; it operates an on-site solar park, runs an electric vehicle fleet, and uses BioLPG made from food waste for all cooking.
Marten Lewis, Director of Sustainability at Bluestone, said:
“At Bluestone we have built the regenerative tourism Blueprint and work hard to reduce waste in all areas of the business including food, from menu creation to training our teams and reporting. Any food waste is managed responsibly by a local anaerobic digestion facility which generates renewable energy and organic fertiliser for local farmers. Teaching pupils how to make low-carbon choices and reduce waste gives them practical skills and a deeper understanding of the lifecycle of the meals they eat. It’s exactly this kind of community-led change that will help Wales build a sustainable future.”
These workshops are part of a series of events marking Wales Climate Week 2025 (November 3-7). This year’s programme will also feature a three-day virtual conference, and a programme of Climate Conversations community events which will run up until the end of February. Ideas shared during the Week will feed directly into Carbon Budget 3 (2026-2030) which is due to be published at the end of 2026.
Anyone interested in holding their own Climate Conversation event is being encouraged to apply for the Climate Conversations Fund, which is supporting communities across Wales to join Wales’ largest conversation on our climate future. The Fund is open for applications until October 31.
