St James Archives - CAFOD Blog

Our CAFOD young climate bloggers: How to live more sustainably

October 7, 2015

Our CAFOD young climate bloggers never cease to engage with what is going on in the world around them. This month some

of them have been looking at living more sustainably. Two of our blogging groups, from St James’s and St Robert’s, have been looking at ways in which they can do this individually, and on a wider level in their school communities.

Kayleigh, from St James, says:

“We at St James are trying to be very environmentally friendly. Before we started blogging, we already had a few things in place. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the installation of a wind turbine and solar panels at the school. We are now re-launching the E-squad to let people know what we have done and can do ourselves. The E-squad’s motto is recycle, reuse, reduce. Here is our notice board that raises awareness and reminds us of the small changes we can all make. Throughout the school, recycling takes place dividing litter into three different categories. If everyone does their bit, then we will can make a difference together.”

Call on David Cameron to act on climate change and sign CAFOD’s climate change petition

St Roberts students on their enrichment visit to Europe

The St Robert’s bloggers also encourage us to think how lifestyle changes, such as turning the heating down, can play a part. They’ve been inspired by a recent trip to the European Parliament, arranging a private meeting with their MEP Jude Kirton-Darling. They said that the trip gave them “an insight into what other countries and the European Union itself is doing to combat climate change, whether it is through emissions cuts or more investment in renewable energy. Continue reading “Our CAFOD young climate bloggers: How to live more sustainably”

Young climate bloggers lobby their MPs and reflect on Laudato Si’

July 9, 2015

Our fantastic young climate bloggers have had a busy month campaigning and raising awareness – so much to celebrate! Several groups attended the lobby of parliament last month. Toby, from All Saints, describes the visit to parliament as follows:

All Saints students after the ecumenical service

Seven students from All Saints travelled down to the Houses of Parliament to discuss climate change with their MPs and what they were going to do about it. We began our day with two of our students attending the ecumenical service at the Emmanuel Centre, Westminster. They helped carried two pieces of a broken heart that fitted together. The heart stood for the motto of the lobby, “…for the love of…”.

The crack in the heart was to show what we as humans are doing to the earth. Later we made our way to the Houses of Parliament to rally with our local MPs and discuss the issues and solutions to climate change.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMwxnJA_iuc&w=420&h=315]

Campaign with us on climate change.

Some students from St James had time to reflect on the lobby and its relevance to the Pope’s encyclical, which was published the day immediately after the lobby.

Students gather at Archbishop's Park — Students gather at Archbishop’s Park

The opening paragraph of the encyclical sets the tone for the whole document: the Earth “is protesting for the wrong that we are doing to her, because of the irresponsible use and abuse of the goods that God has placed on her. We have grown up thinking that we were her owners and dominators, authorised to loot her. The violence that exists in the human heart, wounded by sin, is also manifest in the symptoms of illness that we see in the Earth, the water, the air and in living things.” Pope Francis, June 2015.

Learn more about the encyclical. Continue reading “Young climate bloggers lobby their MPs and reflect on Laudato Si’”