As climate change becomes a more pressing issue with each passing year, it becomes more apparent that children may hold the key to protecting their own future by saving energy today.

It goes without saying that it is important to adapt our energy usage in order to try and save as much as possible. There is always a counter-argument that ‘big business’ is using far more energy than they should and that the individual cannot make a difference. However, if parents and teachers can inspire children to make changes ‘en masse’, the effect on the environment could be huge. If that isn’t enough, children can help save money in school and at home by making small changes.

Two 2018 reports, from a United Nations body and US Government respectively, warned that unless we reduce our use of and reliance upon fossil fuels, ‘natural’ global events like extreme weather, wildfires, drought and flooding would increase in severity. In the most basic terms, using less gas & electricity means that we rely less on fossil fuels.

Fossil fuels are not a clean source of energy and reducing our reliance on them will help lessen pollution and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. All forms of energy production, aside from muscle power, have some sort of environmental impact. The big picture is that our planet is being damaged by the actions of humans.

The smaller picture is the impact that climate change has on us as individual people. In our nations’ cities, air pollution levels are rising and this affects children as they interact with the outside world, be that travelling to school or playing in the school yard. Air pollution is a killer and can cause serious respiratory issues in our children and adults. Reducing energy use also saves money; both parents and schools can save vital funds by adjusting the way energy is used at home and in school.

1. Turn the light off, and swap your bulbs. As you leave a room flick the light switch off if nobody else is using that space. If daylight through the windows is enough to illuminate what you are doing, rely on the power of the sun instead of electricity. Tell your teachers and parents that switching to energy-saving light bulbs will help them save money. Also, don’t forget to shut the door. Keep the heat in and close the door when you are in any room.
2. Waste less water! Switch off the tap whilst you brush your teeth or lather up the soap in your hands. Have a quick shower instead of taking a bath; unless someone else wants to use the bath water before or after you do! Tell your parents and teachers to only use as much water as they need for their brew of tea or coffee in the kettle; never fill it.
3. Say bye to standby. Our schools and homes are filled with devices, from laptops to tablets, to robots. It is all too easy to leave devices on standby and even leave them charging even when they have a full battery. Every item that is plugged into the wall uses energy, even if its battery is full. Unplug your chargers and any devices that do not need to be switched on all the time. You can do this at home too with the TV, set-top box and your games console.
4. Muscle-power. If you can walk or cycle to school to help keep the air clean and avoid the needless burning of fossil fuels to power your family car.
5. Add a layer. If you are chilly at home or in school, before asking for the heating to be turned up why not put an extra layer on?! But be careful, you don’t want to end up looking like a Teletubby!
6. Reduce. Re-use. Recycle. Try to make sure that first, you are using less non-recyclable items in school; the education secretary is encouraging schools to set themselves the target of eliminating their reliance on single-use plastics by 2022.
7. Set up a ‘Power Patrol’. Every school would benefit from having an energy saving team to help make sure that teachers and pupils know how to save energy and to make sure that everyone sticks to the plan. Download our handy checklist to help keep your school in check!

• Fill your fridge and freezer so as not to waste energy cooling empty space. If you are at the end of the week and the fridge is looking empty, fill a couple of jugs of water to take up some extra space.
• Wash clothes on a lower temperature and don’t use a tumble dryer if you don’t need to.
• Put lids on pans when cooking and open the window instead of using an extractor fan.
• A full dishwasher, if energy efficient, will save more water and electricity than washing up by hand.
• Check mum & dad use a microwave instead of an electric oven where possible.
• Driving. Parents and teachers can carpool to work where they share a lift with a friend. We should all make the effort to use muscle power to get anywhere that would take less than 10 minutes in a car.
• In the garden. Use food waste to create your own compost and collect rainwater for when plants & crops need watering.
• The numbers. Show this handy chart to your parents and teachers to tell them just how much money they could save… Hopefully, they will pop what they save in your pocket money kitty!