[Nick Leslie, Head of CAN] It's exciting to see you all here today. I know everyone at the council's really excited to have you here, and it's really wonderful to see all the young faces sat where normally the councillors sit. So I think it's a really important day for the Council, for Stockport to hear what you guys have got to say. I think that's the main thing that I wanted to say to that. We've got a lot of councillors and decision makers here, so we're all here, really to listen. We want to hear what you've got to say about climate change and what you're thinking about things, so I think it's really important, and also we've got the council officers here here to support you. And again, we're listening so just come over and grab us if you want, but yeah, I just want to thank you for coming and taking the time out to do this. As I say, I think it's a really important opportunity for you to express what you think about climate change. It's our responsibility to sort it out, but obviously it affects what happens to you lot in the future. So just wanted to say thank you very much for coming and good luck with the debates. I just want to introduce the mayor of Stockport, who will officially start proceedings. Go. [Cllr Wilson, Mayor] Thank you. For those that don't know me, I'm Councillor David Wilson, the current Mayor of Stockport. I'd like to say good morning and welcome to each and every one of you from all the various schools who are taking part in this morning's event. I think this school's climate assembly meeting is one of the most important we've held so far in the civic year. And I think very often as has been mentioned, the councillors sit in this illustrious chamber, we would debate lots of important issues concerning Stockport. But don't think there's maybe none more urgent in the current climate change crisis. So therefore, you know, whether we from the mayor, officers, counsellors we are so interested to hear what you have to say and your ideas how they're being developed from all the various school facilities. So again, welcome, welcome to Stockport Town Hall. I'm delighted to able to open the session of the school's climate assembly. I do. I wish you all the very best in this morning's debates. I think the ideas I've seen so far sound really interesting. Really fabulous. Really well thought out. I'm going to also thank the staff and the teachers who have helped to bring you here and prepare for this session. And I think that, I really hope that your ideas that can be developed and can be part of a future solution to this most urgent crisis. So again, I'm going to finish on that note and say thank you and have a great morning, have a great debate and success to all your endeavours. Thank you. [Cllr Roberts, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment] Well, good morning, everybody. Nice to see you all here. My name is Counsellor Mark Roberts, and I'm the Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment here at Stockport. So I'm the guy essentially that's in charge of making sure that the council takes action on climate. And I'm here to listen to you today. I'm going to be sat just over there where that yellow bottle is. I'll be taking notes. I'll be listening to your ideas because last night I was starting to write a speech for you all for me to stand here and give to you. And I realise you don't need that. You guys all get it. You guys know how important it is that we find solutions to climate change. So instead of giving you a speech, I'm going to sit there and I'm going to listen. But I would just like to thank the staff have been able to pull together this event for us here. The climate action team here. All of your teachers have brought you here. And I think the other thing I would just say is the Stockport Youth Council who are going to be chairing the meeting for you today. They are are brilliant organisation. If you enjoy debating, if you enjoy having discussions and trying to find solutions for things, they may be an organisation that you'd like to take part in. Now, as a councillor, our job is to respond to the concerns of our residents in Stockport. And there's a couple of other councillors here. It's not just myself, there are a couple of other councillors here from all different parties as well. What I would say is if you've got concerns, if you've got ideas, you can always reach out through your teacher to your local councillors. And also I would I'll put it on record here and now to me, as a Cabinet member for climate change and environment. So if you've got some ideas that come out of today, by all means, get in touch and let us know. So we've got some exciting plans here in Stockport in trying to tackle the issue of climate change. But we don't have all the answers yet. We don't and that's why we're going to be listening to the thoughts that you have today, and we'll be working on those and trying to find solutions to some of the challenges which you bring forward. So without further ado, I'll hand back to the mayor, enjoy today. It's a really great opportunity. This is a unique experience that you guys are having here, and you're speaking directly to the people who can make the decisions. The councillors that are here tonight so, uh, well within the meeting. So thank you so much for coming. Thank you for all of your efforts and enjoy it. Cheers. [Mayor] Thank you Councillor Roberts. Okay. I'm going to hand over to the session to the joint chairs of the the the Youth Council, which I think Jake, Rodrigo and Rose. So I'll vacate the chair. And again, I wish success to the meeting and have a great morning. Thank you. [Jake, Youth Council Chair] Hello and welcome everyone. It's really exciting to be here. I'm Jake and I go to a Marble Sixth Form College, and I am the vice chair for the Youth Council. [Rodrigo, Youth Council Chair] Hello, everyone. I'm Rodrigo. I'm the member of Youth Parliament Stockport. I'm also I also go to St James's. And I'm also in the Youth Council. [Rose, Youth Council Chair] Hello, everyone. I'm Rose. I go to Hazel Grove High School and I am the secretary of the Youth Council. We are so pleased that you've come to the town hall to take part in the first ever schools climate assembly. This is a great chance to be a part of something huge and make a change. Climate change is a massive issue that has so many consequences. We need to tackle rising greenhouse gas emissions now. Yes, this is a great opportunity for us as young people to have their voices heard and for adults to listen. This year we've been submitting actions across what you want to see Stockport Council do to tackle climate change. Over 70 actions were submitted, and this was narrowed down just to 5, thanks to everyone who has submitted actions and they have been amazing to lead. Let's hear from schools that have submitted the five climate actions ideas that will be debated today. Our first climate action idea is this. Make it easier and safer to walk and cycle to school by having more and safer cycle lanes, safer crossings, walking routes and trails, traffic restrictions and better paths. This was a composite action made up by ideas from lots of schools and St Christopher's primary school from Romiley will present to us now. St Christopher's, you have three minutes. Hello, my name is Annabelle and my name is Georgia, and we are from St Christopher's Catholic primary School. We're here to highlight how important it is to all the residents of Stockport that our climate ideas put into action immediately. Within Stockport, our climates below standards and will only get worse if we do not make it easier and safer to walk and cycle to and from school or work. It is a simple change that will ease fuel emissions and reduce air pollution, not to mention the benefits for the people of Stockport who will have the opportunity to increase fitness, health and happiness. After all, who in this day and age isn't chasing those extra daily steps both their physical and mental well being? There is no doubt that if our council won't stop such drastic climate change, the first action that must be taken to reduce the use of climate crushes, also known as cars on our roads, and get people just making journeys on foot, bicycle or even horse. In a study conducted by Dr Band, it was found that they're making just one trip per day by active transport. They would reduce their carbon footprint by 0.5 tonnes in a year. The people of Stockport won't make this vital switch if they feel it is unsafe. After all, our roads aren't renowned for being the safest. In 2021 alone, they have contributed to 127,967 injuries on British roads If we want to reduce climate change if we want to get people away from technical transport. If we want to ensure the healthy lives of Stockport's residents, then our Council must provide cycle lanes, safe crossing points, more pedestrianised walking routes and restrict traffic around areas such as schools. With these in place, people will not take their car and it will clearly mark out those who have to travel by car and in the areas in which they may drive or where they will significantly have to slow down. We are both daily walkers to school, and we have seen how a simple change to systemic democratic crossing points where the coloured pencil crayons posts near our school has guided people into crossing safely and has made clear to drivers they must not park in these areas something which, with was he previously happening on a daily basis If six pencil crayon posts on one street has made such an impact, imagine what painted pathways for pedestrians and cyclists, additional crossing points... [fire alarm] And so crossing points, speed bumps and signs it would make for Stockport. We are sure you will agree that our climate action is one of which will be easily implemented with maximum effect. In Holland, it has worked, so it must work here. The ripple effect would be huge. Less accidents, less health issues mean less stress on the NHS. We can reduce greenhouse gases. We can make our residents feel safe. We can increase their health. We can do this now. Thank you for your time. Thank you so much. ST. Christopher's, well done. Our second climate action idea is to increase the amount for renewable energy supplied in the borough, including renewable energy supplied in school land, which will acquire finance and advice to the borough to enable the use of production and sustainable energy for heating and lighting. This was also a composite action and will be presented by Tithe Barn Primary School from Heaton Moor. Tithe Barn, you have three minutes. Climate action is vital and important because action is not taken quickly, will be dooming future generations to a planet which is slowly being destroyed. We believe that one way to make a big reduction in the amount of CO2 being put into the environment is for schools to produce and use more sustainable and renewable sources of energy for heating and lighting. There's, of course, a big draw back to this idea, and this is, of course, the significant cost of the equipment needed to produce the cleaner and greener sources of energy. We believe that this is where Stockport council can help the schools providing funding and expert advice. As well as the obvious benefits to the environment the will result in this increased use of clean energy within the schools, there will be a significant saving available to the schools, especially as we see the cost of fossil fuels rising into the future. Is solar power on its own enough? Solar power is great once the sun is shining. In some cases, it is the only possible type of generating equipment suitable for some sites. Unfortunately, though, there are drawbacks to being located in not the always sunny north west of England. We propose that a combination of solar power, wind turbines and ground source heat pumps, along with increased insulation and room ventilation and the answer to take our scores into a greener future. Yes, there are undoubtedly high cost initially, but then the schools will make substantial financial savings, which can be put back in to what the schools are there to do. Educating their students. There are already some fantastic examples around of what can be done. Lady Grove Primary in Telford is an older school building, which has combined a generating system of solar power panels and a wind turbine. These are helping the school to make impressive savings by generating nearly 40% of the schools Electricity requirements. 11 Valley Primary in the Lake district has combined solar panels with the ground source heat pump system in an older school building. The project is predicted to see a 77% reduction in heat related CO2 emissions per annum, along with massive financial savings. Where a new build school is planed in Hackford Primary in Sutton is a fantastic example of what can be done. It is Great Britain's first zero carbon school, using a combined system of solar power and heat pumps to produce and conserve as much energy as it uses. Thank you for listening to our presentation. Thank you, Tithe Barn. The third Climate Action today is insulation grants for homes in Stockport, which will be presented by Marple Hall High School. Marple Hall, you have three minutes. Hi, I'm Will, and I'mSophie, and we're from Marple Hall. What is an insulation grant? An installation grant is where the government provides homeowners with the funding to insulate their house, but only if they are eligible. This means that they are only able to get them if, for example, they are on low income. We are arguing that the eligibility criteria for insulation grants are too specific and only help a limited amount of homeowners in Stockport. For example, Green Home grants were offered nationally, supported by central government as a way to support insulation and other retrofitting homes across the country. To target the limited funds that people missing need residents needed to meet the following criteria to get the funding they needed to own their home. The total household income needed to be under £30,000 annually, including all members of the household and the House needed to have an energy performance certificate rating of D or below. There was a limited amount of funding available in every area of the UK. All the funding has now been spent in Greater Manchester, and the works are close to being completed in the houses that received the funding. As such, the grants aren't still available in Greater Manchester. There are currently no plans for more funding to be given Greater Manchester from central government. This scheme aims households with a low income rather than the general public. However, the criteria states a person needs to own their home in order to be eligible for an instant insulation grant. This creates a difficult position for private renters, and landlords as a private rental, will not be eligible for an insulation grant despite earning an annual income of less than £30,000 if they do not own the home. Benefits of insulation. Insulation is used to keep the desired temperature and stop heat from escaping. Building installation is also used to stop excess heat from getting into your home in the summer and protect you from the cold in the winter. Another benefit is that insulation can reduce the cost of heating and cooling by 40% which means it can often pay for itself within six years. This can help people on a lower income because it means they are able to spend less money on heating their house. For high income homeowners, Greater Manchester Combined Authority has just launched the scheme called Your Home Better, which is aimed at the willing to pay market. In the scheme willing to pay residents will get support to assess and plan the retrofitting, but won't get money to pay for the insulation. The aim of this campaign is to encourage and enable people who can afford to retrofit their home. What needs to change insulation grants are able to cover the entire process of insulating your house. The downside of this is that there are still people who struggle to get grants that need them. Insulation grants will benefit our climate because it will reduce the amount of energy used. Thank you. Thank you to Marple Hall. The fourth Climate Action Idea today is make eco friendly, biodegradable or reusable period products more affordable and accessible in schools, submitted and presented by Reddish Vale High School. Reddish Vale, you have three minutes. Hello, I'm Blair and I'm Ace. Before we begin, we would like to thank the Stockport Climate Action Network for giving us the opportunity to raise awareness to an idea that we believe is doable, realistic and can have a positive local impact not only in the community but for our environment. We are here today to prove the importance of making eco friendly, biodegradable and reusable period products increasingly affordable and accessible to schools. We are positive it is necessary to tackle climate change by pushing the widespread awareness and the use of reusable period products. 10 to 12 reusable sanitary pads are the equivalent to 11,000 disposable products each year. The single use plastic products would either end up in landfill or within our already endangered oceans. Washable sanitary pads are not only sustainable for our environment, but for the average person's pocket. A reusable pad could save up to £2000 in comparison to the cost of throwaway products within a lifetime of someone who menstruates. Although the 5% that was reduced to 0% on period products, another eco friendly alternative still remains at 20%. This can deter people from buying the more sustainable alternatives. The cost per reusable pad is three pence, while the cost per disposable pad is approximately 12 pence. Furthermore, we were lucky enough to receive a message of support from the brains behind Period Positive, Chella Quint. Period Positive is a national campaign which holds a key belief system promoting the education of sustainable menstrual products and works towards abolishing the stigma surrounding periods. The idea of pads becoming more ethical and sustainable within schools can be implemented by the council. Contacting major brands such as Always, Tampax and Body Farm, as well as smaller local businesses who already manufacture these products. For example, businesses Dame and worker who can come come to an agreement at a fair midpoint. The council will be contacting these brands and businesses to discuss how they could make these products more affordable and easily accessible to schools while ensuring they are still ethically produced. We believe it is something that we can accomplish with the help of the Climate Action Network. This would help to support businesses after the pandemic and during the current inflation crisis. This is the only planet we have, and this is our opportunity to save it. This is our chance to make a change. Thank you. That was great, Reddish Vale. And finally our final climate action idea today was submitted by Ladybrook Primary School in Bramhall. The action is, schools design awareness raising posters about climate change and the council fund printing, mounting and distribution in local communities. Ladybrook you have three minutes. Good morning, council, staff and children. Our names are Harrison, Anna and Jasmine and we represent Ladybrook Primary School. Today we would like to talk to you about the power of posters and helping to save the world. We are all in agreement that all the climate actions yet being shared in this room today are amazing and will have an impact in making the world a better place. But we feel that our poster campaign is something everyone should vote for. It's a straightforward, time efficient, cost efficient campaign that reaches everybody in the area. But there are other benefits to firstly, posters are more powerful than you think. Did you know in 1986 in London two parents saw their local play centres were closing down? They thought this was terrible because they felt it was important to Children's development and put up posters about this. A small meeting became a big meeting. The big meeting became a local play day and now Mike Conway and Kim hold's play poster campaign to save local play centres is responsible for the National Play Day, the largest celebration of play held on the first Wednesday in August across the nation and even Europe. Imagine if posters about how to save the planet and such a big impact. Secondly, the power of posters can educate. People may not know how they are damaging the planet. They may not know what small things they can do to make a difference. They may say they are just one person. So what's the point in trying? Well, we say posters can educate people. Jump dot org is an organisation that believes in people power. They believe people can change the world. Their research shows that the general public can reduce pollution by a massive 30%. If each person makes small changes to make 30% reduction, we need to end clutter, keep all electronic devices for at least seven years. Holiday local, only fly abroad once every three years. Eat green, more veg, less meat. Travel fresh, car share, walk or use public transport. Dress retro, pass on those clothes. Change the system. Just make one small change and make a difference. We didn't know this until we research, So let's put a poster to teach everybody. Finally, as we said earlier, we think that all our action points in this room are important. I'm sure everyone truly believes their idea is the best. By using posters to educate, we can share everyone else's ideas too. We can use posters to tell people where they can get government grants for insulation. We can use posters to encourage. I encourage parents to turn off engines at the school gates or, even better, to walk us school children to school. We can use posters to share information about green energy for homes. It is an action point in that can change and develop as needs of our areas change. It benefits everybody. In conclusion, schools designing posters is the right thing to do. We can use the language skills of the families in our schools to reach out to all the families who speak different languages. We can place posters where people wait like train stations, bus stops, libraries, doctor's waiting rooms or even the school gates. People always read things while they wait, so let us educate them at the same time. There is no planet B. Our world needs rebuilding now, and this is an amazing opportunity to do it. Thank you for your time. Thanks so much, Ladybrook. And thanks to all schools who have presented, it's now time for the debate. Let's remind ourselves of the debate rules before we get started. Every school can now respond to the five arguments you have just heard. When you would like to speak, just raise your hand. When I call you to speak, please turn on your microphone. You'll have two minutes, and Jake will keep track of how long you've had. They will hold up a 30 second sign when your two minutes are almost up. Remember to be friendly and constructive, and only when Rodrigo invites you to speak. And keep any time limit. I can't wait to hear what you all have to say. Please raise your hand if you'd like to speak. Is there anyone who would like to speak? Please raise your hand. Hello. I'm Georgia. Um, I have a question about the period products campaign. Um, is it not more affordable to spend your money on something else rather than turning on period products? I understand that is a big issue and could decrease the amount of climate change. But in the in the borough, how is this going to be effective? Thank you. We believe that it's important for us to make the one time investment or uh, aggressive investment into these products rather than continuing to buy and use wasteful plastic products. That will have, yes. What's the world? Um, they will have less harmful impact if we switch to the reusable products. And it could also help with the economy of the UK, as it will also benefit the local businesses. Um, the issue of the current inflation crisis and current rising bills in electricity and gas and stuff. Um, the fact that these reusable pads, if they were to become a more known about alternative would have a more, is more cost effective in the long run. Um, because the prices in everywhere is currently going up right now, just for a simple pack of regular everyday use pads has gone up, I'd say by probably 20 or 50p and stuff, and you can see and you can see that through as this crisis has been going on. So using reasonable alternatives is in the long run, a lot more efficient and it's also sustainable. So thank you. This school over here. Mhm. Yeah. Hello. My name is Arthur. Hello. My name is Matilda. We've we both come from St Winifred's Primary school and we would like to debate climate change. One we believe that the poster designing campaign for climate change awareness by Stockport Children is such a good idea because it will involve Children. And while still in a full activity, it will teach the Children of Stockport all about climate change and the things they can do to help. I don't think school will also learn about the impact of climate change because the and the things they that that they can do to help. Two, It will also give members of the public ideas of actions they can take to tackle climate change. Three, Children will talk about it in lessons as their teachers will have told them about it. And then they will go and tell their family members. And those are people they know and the poor fail will be wearing more actions will be taken. Childrens voices and ideas will be heard. It will be like a huge pupil voice, and we'll give the ownership of the ideas we could. Five. We could do the campaign every year with a clear set of guidelines to follow, and this will give a public and allowed range of actions to take. The council could give the school's guidelines of the focus for that year. We think it will be great doing a competition too, because interest, different categories for different age groups. Seven, also, it's about preparing a practical project for schools to follow. And in with a Stockport Council badge or award for climate change to all of the schools for taking part. We have brought along one idea today and we we were happy to share it. Are there any other schools that wish to speak? Uh, Cheadle Hulme School. Yeah. Uh, I have a question for Ladbrook with the poster campaign you mentioned, including things like only travelling abroad or flying abroad every three years, or eating less meat and more vegetables. Do you intend to only encourage this with the posters, or do you intend to make them more about it or make it something official? Uh, we could do both but we we could encourage it more. Okay, so you want to control it more instead of making us an official letter? Thank you very much. Who else wants to speak? We'll go for, uh, Norbury Hall primary school. Hello. My name is Alice. Hi. My name is Aidan and we're from Norbury Hall primary school. We have a supporting debate for why it would be better to walk, cycle, scoot, and one to school. We feel making it easier and safer to walk and cycle to school will have the greatest impact on climate change. The average primary school journey is just 1.6 miles. Yet one in five cars on the road during the morning peak are doing the school run. Supporting this action will not only help the environment, but also our physical and mental health. It'll reduce the number of vehicles on the road, including more people to use public transport, walk, cycle, scoot or run. The impacts this action will have on the climate are, one, reduce air pollution, which contributes to many premature deaths annually. Two, create a need for more green spaces. If more people are cycling or walking, this will lead to more traffic free spaces, which means more trees, plants and wildlife, which in turn leads to an increase in clean air. Three, use biodiversity by increasing the number and types of plants and animals that exist in particular area. Four, it will reduce noise pollution. Five, and finally impact on people's mental and physical health. By supporting this action, the following groups will benefit, one, local residents of schools, it will reduce parking issues noise pollution and improve air quality. Two, parents and pupils will be more active and healthier, contributing to the recommended daily exercise to help reduce obesity. Three, teaching staff will benefit as children will be more engaged and ready to learn, have better concentration levels and develop more exploration skills for being more aware of their surroundings. Four and finally, many residents in Stockport will benefit from the more green spaces and quiet and safer roads. We have researched and found that Merton local authority in Greater London rolled out an experimental traffic management order during September and October of 2020. Over 20 schools took part, restricting traffic between 8:00am and 9:15 and 2:45pm and 4:00 by closing the road around schools to traffic at pickup and drop off times. This can reduce polluting nitrogen dioxide levels by up to 23%. This order discourages motor vehicle use which will reduce congestion and carbon emissions, making roads safer and promoting more active lives. As a result of this experimental order, many schools involved have made a decision to make this order permanent. In conclusion, we feel this action will have the greatest impact. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else. Okay, we will go to Bolshaw primary school. Hi, I'm Edie, and I'm Grace. We're from Bolshaw Primary and we completely support the poster idea. It is great to assume everyone knows the effects of climate, the effects climate change has on the world. But not everybody does. So that's why we need to raise awareness before we can take action. And we must support those who are making speeches, power points and assemblies to educate the great mass of people who aren't aware of this issue that has been taking hold of the world. We need to educate before we can take action. And we must strive to make the community an eco friendly place. But before that, we must bring awareness. Thank you. Thank you. Any other schools that wish to speak? Uh, we'll go to Fairway Primary School. Hi, I'm Mia. Hi, Molly. We are from Fairway primary school and we are speaking in support of the eco friendly period products Idea. How many women in the world? One billion? Two billion? No one knows for sure, but estimations were around 3.905 billion. And that references a lot of periods. So making biodegradable, reusable period products could really make an impact. Alternatives could include menstrual cups. They are reusable and can last up to a decade. Organic tampons are made from cotton with plant based applicators. Here we had pants are also an option as they are washable therefore reusable. There are also sanitary pads made of bamboo. Traditional period products use plastic applicators and wrapping which can take up to 500 years to break down in landfill. Single use menstrual products create 200,000 tonnes of waste per year, which is reversing the current climate situation. To help young girls start good habits, I propose that packs of eco friendly products could be made in schools for girls starting their periods. Otherwise, many girls would just use what their mothers have been, which were likely to contain plastic, therefore, been harmful to the environment, Using people to take positive changes to save our world or by the time the generation grows up there will be nothing left to save. No one likes their period, do they? Even though it's just a part of life, it can be a pain, and making them eco friendly will make them less of a worry. When it comes to climate change, period products can be a hazard to the planet if 90% of the sanitary pad is made up of plastic, so is 60% of a tampon. Absorbent cellulose, the main component of many period products, including pads, is also what's used to make paper and cardboard. Cardboard and paper get used universally. That means trees are getting cut down daily, eventually adding up to around four billion trees cut down in a year. Any cardboard used for packaging should be recycled to to limit the effects on the planet. Families on low income, it can be difficult to afford period products, which may result in period poverty. Eco friendly options such as menstrual cups and period pants tend to cost a lot of money, making them unaffordable to many as period pads are classed as clothing products, they can be taxed at 20%. As period poverty is becoming a growing problem, we as a community need to ensure that eco friendly period products are accessible to anyone who needs them. Thank you for your time and attention. Thank you very much. Any other schools that wish to speak? Reddish Vale high school. Hi. We have questions for the school that proposed the idea of making pathways and walking to school a lot safer and easier. With this comes a lot of street disruption. You'll need the consent of people in the surrounding area and from higher ups, and it will be extremely expensive and will consume a lot of energy and create a high carbon footprint. How would you go about tackling that? Well it does sound cost you when you do it like that. But it's long term. You will only have to pay for it once or twice in about a billion years, because road paintings stay for quite a long time, so they wouldn't just rub off in the rain. So that would cut down costs. Um, with the painting pathways for pedestrians, how do you intend to offset the carbon emissions that that might produce in terms of getting the paint delivered, Getting the right type of paint? Is the paint gonna be recyclable, biodegradable, etcetera. We would ask the council if they could get the most recycleable paint. Also considering areas that are more secluded within Stockport and the surrounding boroughs. Um, if you had to go out of your way to create more paths, the emissions from that would be extremely high. So what would you do in like, what would you do in hopes of offsetting the emissions? We could ask the council to get electric trucks to build the paints and ask people to hand paint them. This means that it will reduce the emissions and with the biodegradable paint, it will reduce emissions significantly. Thank you. Yeah, we will move on to, uh, Queensgate Primary School. We are from Queensgate Primary School, and our names are Georgia and Harry. At Queensgate, we would like to support the action idea to increase the amount of renewable energy supplied in the borough, including the renewable energy supplied on school land. A government report stated that every school has the potential to generate its own renewable energy. As most schools have roofs, Solar Electric electricity is generally the standout choice. We found that the main benefit of going solar are reduced energy bills. Schools can make significant savings on their electricity bills. Solar panels can generate electricity for 25 years or more, so the cost savings will go on for some time and could be very sustainable, reducing CO2 emissions. Combating climate change By significantly reducing the school's greenhouse gas emissions, a medium sized system can responsibly except to mitigate several tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year and every year. Education and engagement: Being able to communicate to the children the benefits of sustainability through a working example of renewable technology in their own school will provide more direct links to the subjects and geography, science, design and technology and IT. This can also help inspire the wider community to take action to address climate change. We believe that financing solar panels for schools in the borough will help in our fight against climate change. Thank you, Thank you. Are there any other schools that wish to speak? Alexandra Park Primary school. Hello. Hello. My name's Edith and we're here to fight for more cycle paths and for safer walking paths in Stockport. We think it will be really helpful if there are more cycle paths and safer walking paths in Stockport to encourage people to cycle, walk more and to drive less. This will create less greenhouse gases because people aren't driving as much. If people are driving less, it will help the environment decrease your carbon footprint. In Stockport, road transport causes 30% of all greenhouse gases. It will not only help people's physical health, but also your mental health. Implementing our suggested changes will inspire those people who may not know about climate change to help support our planet and themselves, creating a brighter future for us all. Walking buses have been successful in other areas and we are sure we can learn from this and do it in our local area, making walking to school fun and environmentally friendly. Thank you. Thank you very much. We'll go to Brookside Primary School. Hello, my name is Xiaoshan and this is Edie. We are the green leaders from Brookside Primary School. In our key stage two classes, we have had debates about the five climate action ideas. After much discussion and circle times, we voted for a proposal that we think can make an immediate change. The majority of our school believe that having biodegradable or reusable period products would have a huge positive effect on our environment and our lifestyle. The following reasons were raised in our discussions. This problem affects most of our society, sisters, wives, daughters and mums use these products every four weeks, products that are not recycled and leave behind millions of tonnes of waste every year. In addition, these products are covered in plastic, all of which is going into landfill sites. The chemicals used to make fragrances, plastics and absorbent materials pollute both the air and the water. These products are just discarded into landfill sites which are overflowing with sanitary products. Landfill sites are getting fuller and fuller and we cannot carry on just filling them up either. Edie will now give further reasons that we came up with. We all need to think carefully about what goes down our drains and the impact it makes. You don't just disappear because you can't see it anymore. Sewer systems often get blocked with sanitary products such as pads and tampons. This causes a strain on our sewage pipes, and someone has to unblock them. In addition, lorries are transporting all these disposable products around the country constantly leading to road use and pollution. In addition to this, we argued that disposable period products are very expensive goods. At the moment, the cost of living is very high. Having cheaper alternatives available for Stockport residents will really help our community. Some young girls do not have the money to buy these products and usual products are fair for people who cannot afford these expensive goods. Therefore, this idea will benefit many people in Stockport and therefore we urge you to vote for this idea. Okay, thanks very much. Uh, we'll go to St Simon's. I'm Iara and I'm Molly and we are St Simon's Catholic primary school. We support the Renewable period products idea because we think this also connects to wider issues of sustainable products in our school. One problem we have noticed, particularly as we moved to year five, is the number of school stationery products we throw away on a regular basis. These are more often than not made of plastic. In Year five, we get given handwriting pens that are made of plastic, but every few days at least five pens run out and have to be replaced, which means loads of plastic ends up in the bin. We also throw away lots of plastic bags, broken rulers, whiteboard, pens, water bottles and lots of other plastic rubbish. We think that the government should help schools to reduce the amount of plastic stationary they throw away by giving the schools money to make better equipment. We could buy pens that that are refillable with ink and don't get thrown away every few days. We could buy rulers that are wooden and last for years instead of a few months. And we could also be given rewards for finding out ways to reuse plastic in schools, for example, making pencil parts from old bottles and using rubbish to make classroom displays. We created our own classroom display about caring for our environment using all plastic bags, which we have here. Thank you. Thanks very much. Uh, we'll go on to Mellor primary school. Hello. I'm Joseph. Hello. I'm Anna and we need bike lanes in Stockport. I know that bike lanes can be costly and plenty of planning is required. There will be less space for cars and possible longer commutes. It can also result in the attention of car drivers towards cyclists decreasing. And they're a minority of people use bikes. But I think the pros outweigh the cons. The amount of people cycling has gone up by 32% in the last 20 years, and a bike is cheaper than running a car. Bike lanes will give people more confidence to use the bike promoting a healthier lifestyle. Huge benefits for mental health which in turn reduces health costs for the local council. More cyclists, less cars means less repairs for roads, lower maintenance costs for council, for the councillor or taxpayers. Bike lanes have shown to also improve property values with safer pavements and more independence for children and families. Lastly, there are obviously huge benefits on pollution. A great impact on our environment. By putting more bike lanes, it could help with people who are obese because of the prices of food going up to buy vegetables and fruit. It is a lot cheaper to buy unhealthy food, and by buying these you can become obese and need to lose weight. And you could do cycling and you'd want somewhere safe to cycle and generally actually somewhere to cycle, because it's illegal to ride on the pavement. And if you are not that confident, you don't want to be riding on the main road with all the traffic where you can become endangered and maybe have an accident. Which brings me on to walk ways. Walking not only impacts our environment, but our health too. Increasing physical activity reduces the risk of diabetes and heart disease, which are the leading causes of hospitalisation in the UK. And walking just 8.6 minutes a day you're 33% more likely to report better mental health. Big social benefit is people are out and about more likely to have a conversation in a safe place to walk. This strengthens the value of community and brings money into the neighbourhood as people are more likely to shop in local businesses as they walk past. Please, everybody, support this solution. Thanks very much. We will go to Stockport Academy. I have a question for the poster idea. When they're made, are they made with paper? Because if there's lots of them, then they will end up in the earth and and it'll destroy the Earth. Well, um, it could be recycled paper. Or we were thinking, like, recycled wood. Or we could do some things like electronically. So, like, electronically on billboards and bus stops and things like that, so it won't be as bad. And the paper we do use will be recycled and recyclable. Okay, any other schools that wish to speak? Uh, we will go to... Sorry, I'm just I'm just thinking. St Christopher's primary school. We've got a question for the posters. You can't make people read them, because there is a chance that they could read them when they're walking past or something but I know people that wouldn't just walk past and read them. And also you said you said that you would like people only to go abroad once every three years. I've got a friend who's got relatives in Australia and that counts as abroad. So she goes every year to see them because she's their, Grandma, so they've got to go and see them. It's more about encouraging people, not just to go on holiday for every three years. So if you're seeing family, it's a different thing because you are just seeing your family. But if it's holiday then only every three years. Thank you very much. Torkington primary school. In our class, we lead our own democracy debate using the resources we were provided with and the two actions that came out most popular were, making it easier and safer cycle to school. The roads are very narrow, near to Torkington primary school and cars very often park on double yellow lines when dropping off children. We would like to educate our community on the benefits of walking and cycling to school and would like to look at safer walking routes and crossings that would make it a safer place with for children to cross on Torkington Road. The other one was to increase renewable energy for the borough. We feel this is a very important topic and we're going to look into getting solar panels in our school to help reduce electricity bills and with these savings, spend the money on educational resources. We also feel it's important to educate and communicate pupils the benefits of sustainability through renewable technology, particularly in IT and DT to provide more direct engagement and help inspire the wider community to take action and look at climate change. Thanks very much. If I could invite St Mary's Academy speak. I've got a question for them ones over there. I get that that encouraging people to walk to school and cycle to school. Yeah. What about people that live further away from the school? Because people in our class live all the way in Macclesfield and also people that are injured and it's harder for them to cycle or walk or run to school. We could do car share or we could go in buses because if lots of people going one transport then it uses less energy. And it's better for the planet rather than just going in single cars. It is also understandable that you might not be able to go the full way. But maybe if you can drive four or five minutes and you're still like half a mile away, that's OK to walk just so don't drive the full way. Still, save some energy by just driving a bit and then walking the rest. I'll go to Merseyvale primary if they wish to speak. Hello. We have an idea to support St Christopher, the idea about road safety. Our idea is that households should only be allowed to have one car. Limiting the number of cars to one per household will also mean that people would only need to fill up one car, saving them time, spend less money on fuel, which is getting more and more expensive, use less fuel and help our planet. If we were harming the planet further, the next generation of the human race are likely to copy us, ensuring death and destruction to everyone and everything around us. There is no planet B for us to evacuate to if we destroy this one. So it is critical that we try to reduce the amount of fossil fuels being used by reducing the number of cars on our roads by limiting one car per household is one way that we might be able to do this. Thank you for listening. Bolshaw Primary school. Um, both my parents have to go to work in two separate places, so they need two cars because they both go to work at the same time. And they both go to completely different places and it be too far to walk or to cycle or anything else. So they need two cars because they wouldn't be able to go anywhere else. Thank you. It's all right. Thank you very much. Who else wants to speak? We'll go for Meadowbank again. I am Georgia and I'm Melissa. We go to Meadowbank primary school. We believe and feel passionate about the importance of increasing renewable energy supplied in the borough in order to prevent climate change. Through extensive research, it has come to our attention that 78% of electricity is supplied by fossil fuels, coal, crude oil and natural gas. In comparison, a mere 22% comes from renewable energy. How is this sustainable? From our research, we have discovered that 40% of greenhouse gas emissions in Stockport come from homes. This contributes to climate change, rise in the earth's temperature. Solar panels, wind turbines and biomass boilers are all sources of renewable energy, which can all save massive amounts of energy. The indisputable fact that seven schools in Salford installed solar panels which have generated enough energy to make 30 million cups of tea, shows that if other places can save that much energy, so can we. It is essential that we recognise these undisputable facts. These issues are paramount and we need to need to be addressed. Thank you. We will go to Cheadle Hulme school. We have a question for Queensgate about putting solar panels in schools. Um, they are quite expensive. So who would pay for it? Uh, yeah, they're also quite conditional. Many renewables are conditional. I mean, what would happen if the sun doesn't shine, where would the energy come from? And if you have wind turbines, if it's not windy, what would you get energy from if you use your own energy grid? And also older schools might not be supportive of like, um, solar panels on roofs because it's too heavy for it. It would also be quite unsafe to install them on oldest roofs. Ours for example, it has a very high roof, and there should be a risk of when you install them of the person installing them falling off or being injured when putting them on. Queensgate primary. Do you wish to respond? Uh, we'll move on then, to someone else's, uh, statement. We'll go to Fairway primary school. I've got a question for the group who presented the idea of installation grants for Stockport homes because even with government grants, the cost of living crisis is still there, and it will make it difficult for families to afford the budgets to contribute, because if it's just a grant yeah, and say it's 10 grand, then the government can give five grand, but they'll still have to find the five grand themselves. And how are they supposed to do that? Thank you. Installation grants are available to cover the entire process of insulating the house so they wouldn't have to give the money back to the government. And, um, yeah, they would give be given the entire money to pay for insulating the house. Thanks very much. Any other points or questions? We'll go to Tithe Barn primary school. I have a question for the people who talked about the posters. You said before that if the posters weren't made out of paper, you might light them up on electric billboards or something. How would you plan to make sure that energy was renewable? Otherwise you'd be putting a bad action into the climate whilst trying to stop it. Um, we could put solar panels on to them or wind turbines. Thank you. Any other schools that wish to make a statement or a question? We'll go to St Simon's primary school. I've got a question for the people for cycling. If you put cycle paths for example, on the small road, wouldn't it make it more dangerous instead of less dangerous? Which school specifically? Was it the the school that presented the idea? Just the schools talking about the cycling. Any schools that want to respond to that who have it on their agenda? On small roads, you're right, it would be a bit of a difficulty, but we would either, depending on how big pavements were, we might have to cut down pavements. Do you know anything? There is an answer to this question using a already working area also known as Middlewood Way where the pavements and the roads and the cycle paths are cut in half. So one half is for pedestrians and everything. And the other half is for cycling and horses. But wouldn't that cost quite a lot of money? Technically, all you need is paint, because technically, all you have to do is mark it out, and people will see that. Is that the end of those points? Yeah. All right. Um uh, and other schools wish to speak? We'll go to Reddish Vale. Um, we've got another question for the cycling paths and those safer roads. Um, so, first off with a few other people at various points about people that live too far away to use these paths or are unable to with, like, injuries. And also, we want to mention disabilities as well. Um what is the kind of, um, plan, especially with the permission from local people? If they don't want that to be kind of implemented in the area, there may be too much of it. And also, are you certain that the cost of it and also the carbon footprint that it could possibly give out is that going to be worth the efficiencies? Is the efficiency going to cancel that out? And if you use biodegradable paint, that would also end up fading a lot quicker than a paint that's more permanent. So how would you tackle that while managing to keep carbon emissions down and lower? Do you have response to that? All right. Thank you very much, that was a quite hard question. Um, we will go to Ladybrook primary school. Again for the cycle path, will trees and bushes and things like that need to be moved to build them? If we were building, then we would try as hard as we could to replant the bushes and they would be reused in the gardens and public gardens and parks. Any other sort of comments on that point? Okay. We'll move on to go to St Winifred's primary again, About the cars, instead of using, like, fuel all that because these are fossil energies, we could make electric cars and lobby the government to make more electric cars and less fuel cars so that we can we can take part in that climate change. And also, we can reduce and recycle and upcycle. And about the wind turbines, it is good because the wind makes electricity. But to make the wind turbine, we need some fossil energies. So wind turbines are not really a good thing for the planet. Is that a question or a statement to Tithe Barn, who brought up a statement? A statement. Okay, thanks very much. Is there anybody else? We'll go to St Mary's again. About that there, uh, people with bad eyesight have can't really hear electric cars that well because they're really silent. So what about that? And also about car, they're worse than fuel cars because when it's run out of electricity they use more fuel. And electric cars are quite expensive so now everyone can afford them. Well, for the electric cars, the fuel cars yes, are less expensive than electric. But if we sort of use less fuel cars and more electric cars, the government will maybe lower the prices of the electric cars and higher the prices of the fuel car. So people buy more electric cars than fuel cars and maybe one day, fuel cars will completely disappear. Uh, we will go to St Simon's primary. When you're making the roads, will you be transporting the tarmac that you're using to make the roads and make the pavements and paths from other countries? Because when they're being transported, it will, like, release gas into the air. Well, we wouldn't actually have to dig up any roads or build more roads. It is, um, a simple change to just paint lines on the road to make places where you can cycle safely, you can walk. We don't have to dig up any roads, don't have to travel any tarmac. And if we do travel paint, we'll try and make it. We'll get it as local as possible. Any other points or statements? We will go to Alexandra Park School. I have a question for the people with the posters. If you say you can only travel every three years, what about if you have to travel for work? Is that to Ladybrook primary? Okay, Ladybrook primary if you could respond please. Well, that's just kind of like a guideline. So if it's not absolutely necessary, then once every three years. But if you really, really, like, have to go for your job, then you could go slightly more. But not too often, because planes aren't very good for the environment because they make people's carbon footprints a lot bigger. Thanks very much. We will go to Meadowbank. I have a question for the people that said that electric cars aren't as expensive as fuel cars because right now, the prices of petrol and diesel going up astronomically. So in the main scheme of things, fuel cars are more expensive than electric cars. Thank you. Do you wish to respond? Okay, any other points? We'll go to, uh, Cheadle Hulme school To the school that said about the painting the roads that's contradictory to your original argument that said, You will make and improve more roads. But you just stated now that you will only paint them instead of actually making new and better roads and pavements. Any response? No. All right, any other questions? We'll go to Reddish Vale. A question for Ladybrook and the posters. You'd be able to lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink it. So how would you ensure that everyone who has seen the posters will actually take, um into consideration what they're doing and use the posters as a way to change their actions and change the climate and then use that for further, especially when this sort of stuff can be read pretty easily online? How would that kind of come into play when it's already existing? Well, there is nothing we can really do, all we've got to hope is that people will take notice and take part, you know? Yeah. Thank you. Thank you very much. We will go too Fairway from school. We've got a question for the people who mentioned the walking bus because, who would be responsible and accountable for things like the walking bus? Uh, who would supervise? Would it be teachers? Our parents? Because if children abuse the rules of it and run out into the road, who would have to pay for, uh, the accident? Who is that a question to? Which school in particular? Um, the schools who mentioned the walking bus of the make it easier and safer to walk and cycle to school. Any schools that have got sort of walking and cycling on their agenda who wish to respond? Yeah, I'm not sure he will be responsible, but maybe they could put the money together to do it. To make it easier to cycle to school and make the walking bus scheme. Thanks very much for your point. We'll go to Tithe Barn. I have a question for I believe, St Winifred's school. You said before that wind turbines are powered by fossil fuels. Initially? Yes, they would. But with the kinetic energy that they pick up eventually they will be powered by their own energy and it will be the re-using and gaining energy. Yes, but, you see more fossil energy equalled more climate change and so wind turbines are technically in the middle, um, of good and bad. So yes, they are powered by their own energy, but we make each approximately each year we make about 30 wind turbines, so that means more fossil energy used in the world. Is that the end of your Yeah. Thanks very much. Anymore questions, statements? Uh, yourself. For the people who said travelling. Sorry. What about if they had to go to somebody's wedding or a birthday or a funeral? Then what would you do? Thank you. Well if they really need to go, they can go. We just encouraged that they go every three years or maybe two. Thanks very much. Any other schools wish to raise the point? We'll go to Reddish Vale. Thank you. So we have a question for the schools who were talking about renewable energy within a school environment. Um, so first off, it would considering, uh, certain schools are better than others. Some of them have less space to work with, um, that could obstruct the surrounding areas. And of course, it has to be sure that it's safe for the Children that go there. And it isn't in any way going to impact either their learning or their safety, and it isn't hazard. Um, additionally, how would the carbon footprints that it would take to build, for example, solar panels on the roofs or the wind turbines to generate the energy? How would that be offset and also taking in consideration how unreliable quite a lot of renewable energy can be, especially considering solar panels are only effective when it's warm and the sun's out. And then wind turbines are completely reliant on the amount of wind that is produced. When it comes to instructing surrounding areas. For example, if we did use wind turbines, where locally would we be able to place them? Because a lot of wind turbines are placed around countryside so for that to have effective measures within our area, how would you try and implement them? And just how would the kind of cost effect of it how, considering with the budget cuts for schools as well and, um, schools having increasingly less and less money to work with, and always kind of increasing and curriculum with more needs for, like, getting food, with art, for technology. Um, how is it going to be cost effective and to make sure that it is worthwhile? Is that a question or statement or who is it directed to? Tithe Barn? So if you could please respond. We agree it would be very costly. But there's also other ways to generate renewable energy. You don't just have to use wind turbines or solar panels. And yes, it would leave a carbon footprint. But eventually it would generate so much energy and it had almost removed that. We'll go to St Simon's. Okay, I have a question for St Christopher's. Yeah, what's the question? Um, I don't think it will make a difference just painting because, as they said, um, there's a lot of injuries and the difference will go slower. So painting the road, would it really help the people cycling or walking on the path? We think you're a bit wrong on that, because it will separate cars and cyclists. And if we need, we can always put double yellow lines so cars don't park in there. Thank you very much all, so it's about time for break. So we'll just have a small break and we'll continue debating afterwards. Yeah, yes. Yeah. Okay. Uh, Stockport Academy? I'm Ella and I'm Rose. We at Stockport Academy have chosen to debate about biodegradable or reusable period products. There are around 7.5 billion people on our planet and half of them will menstruate at some point. Periods are a normal thing that a lot of people deal with every month. We should all be able to talk about periods, whatever the gender and normalised periods. In the school in Malawi periods and not a taboo topic that divides the girls from the boys, the boys join the girls to produce reusable, washable sanitary pads. This is to empower girls to make their own sanitary pads and other boys make them for their siblings. Some are sold to the other girls at a low cost. Menstrual taboos and period shaming have a massive impact on how we dispose them. They end up in landfill, on beaches, or polluting our oceans. For decades, the average person who menstruates throws away up to 200 kilogrammes of menstrual products in their lifetime. Fatberg is a 130 tonne solid field formation out of waste that is blocking the London sewers. And one of the courses is tampons and sanitary products that have been flushed down toilets across the city. You may not be aware but it takes a tampon longer to degrade than the lifespan of the women who wear it. Plastic free period products can be washable pads, menstrual clubs, period pants. We are asking you, Stockport Council, if you can make posters, have lessons in school about reusable period products. We want to raise awareness in school to let girls know that biodegradable products do exist and they can save them lots of money and can help the environment a lot. We could also have schools use some plastic free period products and give them to their students. Schools could keep boxes of these in the bathrooms for people to use if they need it, and knowing that, say, we were there to give them a sense of comfort. Let's get talking about plastic free period. Thank you. Thank you. We'll have Meadowbank then, please. Thank you. We have a question for Stockport Academy. Wouldn't it be very uncomfortable washing it in public? I mean, we were in those toilets before, and didn't it seem pretty crowded? Girls going in, girls going out. And it was very public. So I'm not sure if girls would enjoy... I personally wouldn't enjoy washing my menstrual cup or reusable pad in public. And it could be unhygienic as well because the blood could go on the sink, and it might not be washed out properly, and it could lead to infection or just a lot of germs. Thank you. Do yo wish to respond? All right, who wants to go next? We will have Torkington primary school. Um, so say if you have an electric car and you live in a flat. First of all, where would you put the charger for the electric car? And how would you charge your electric car? Who is this directed to? Um, it's just a statement. It's just a statement. Okay. All right. Um, any other points? We'll go to St Simon's This is for St Christopher's. When you're painting on the road, is it not going to make the road a bit smaller and it will make it harder for cars to drive and to drive around? It would be a bit less than safe. It may make them portionally smaller. But you've got to think cycle paths would work like road. You would have one behind each other or 1 or 2 next to each other, and so they wouldn't need to be that thick because bikes aren't that thick. Thanks very much. We will go to Queensgate primary school. I've got a question for St Christopher's. What do you expect cyclists to do when they reach the end of Stockport? Do you expect this to be a national thing or just for Stockport? Well, we have discussed this and we've said if it goes well in Stockport, then other places might think Oh, that's a good idea because we could almost brag to them that we've got so cycle paths, we're doing all this good thing for the environment. Why don't you do it too? Thanks very much for your point, we'll go for Reddish Vale. I've got, like, a closing speech thing. Um, so basically, why you should actually care about this idea in the first place? Um, well, we believe this idea not only advocates for biological females rights, but it also helps to reduce the existing stigmas in schools and would have a positive impact on our environment. This project has not actually been attempted before in the U. K. However, we think that if it's successfully accomplished in Stockport, it could have a knock on effect on the rest of the country. Our climate action idea would have a lower carbon footprint. In the long run, it might not just benefit people within our local area, this does have the potential to become much more widespread. Not all young people are properly educated on their periods. Some people begin their periods at the age of eight, but is only in the third year of primary school. While the curriculum requires schools to have a PSHE unit within our schools around menstruation and puberty as a whole, the society we live in only reinforces the idea that period taboo or are dirty. This is an idea that we have the ability to deconstruct, and this can be one of the first steps to doing that sustainably. In addition, as transgender people, we believe there is not enough education supporting trans people who menstruate, especially regarding the discomfort the process brings to many in the matters of mental health and disability. Oh, this is why this education is so important and that more and more young people are told menstruation is OK and that they deserve access to sustainable measures of dealing with it. And we sincerely hope that you consider it in your vote on on behalf of Reddish Vale. Thank you. Thank you very much Reddish Vale. We will go to Bolshaw primary school. Painting bike lanes won't really work because some cars aren't going to follow the lanes and there'll be more likely to have more accidents. All ideas are really good, but some of the ideas aren't possible. As a council, we won't be able to afford it all. Um, I think we should go to the more affordable options because they're more likely to happen and happen faster. Like the posters and the period products because lots of young girls start periods and they don't really have access or knowledge to disposable or reusable part. So I think we need to make a change there. Thank you. Thanks very much. St Mary's Academy. Thanks. Okay. All right. Um Um, for the St Christopher's, a lot of people are saying about the bad things that are happening about painting the things. But that's not just one thing that they're trying to say. I think the other things that they're trying to say is stuff like, um not just cycling, running and walking and stuff like that. Yeah. So is that sort of a statement, or do you want do you want response too? That was sort of just a point? It's sort of a a statement. So you don't want it okay. All right. We will move on to Tithe Barn primary school. I have a question for Reddish Vale high school. Before the break, they mentioned how trying to create renewable energy resources will be very expensive. But on another point, it would also be much more expensive to use fossil fuels. For example, a wind turbine, a stable one, might cost I don't know, £500? Whilst fossil fuels for a whole year might cost something like £30,000, enough to hire a teacher or something else. And if you saved that money and put it back in, you can do other things with the money and put it back into educating students. Uh huh. Yeah. Um, well, we do agree that, yes, fossil fuels are probably much more expensive. Our point was more about ensuring that the cost towards that would be, um, able to be kind of worthwhile for the efficiency that it would create. So if it's going to be, um, more cost than profit then what that kind of would come into play with. Obviously renewable energy would be cheaper. But would it be worth paying more for the fossil fuels, though they are obviously less ethical and less environmentally friendly for that sense of stability and reliability that they provide? Thanks very much. We will go to St Simon's. I am agreeing for the solar panels, and I think that for schools that have houses close, solar panels could not only help the school, but It could also help the houses around because most houses do not have solar panels. So I think that if solar panels are more popular on top of schools that it would help not only the school, but all the houses around it, Which is good. Okay we come out to final points. Okay. We'll go to St Christopher's primary school. We've got a question for Reddish Vale. Um, we're asking what if the products don't work? What if they're unhygienic? What if they decompose in the wash? There's a lot of things that could go wrong. Obviously, within the production and the creation of these products, these are all things that are factored while they are tested. So there's a lot of scientific research and a lot of statistics behind the fact that these products are reliable and that you will be able to use them. Cleaning them, there's just like the specific devices created so that you should be able to clean them in public, especially menstrual cups. But then, if you had a bag that you could put a reusable pad in and you could keep that for later, and then you could wash at home with other menstrual pads to spare throughout the rest of the day, and such. And your point about it decomposing in the wash. That's a pretty good point, but it would be just the same as any other clothing, like a T shirt or a pair of pants. It would just be the same thing because it would be made out of the same fabric, but it would be more efficient. Just think of it as another item of clothing, especially if it is something that is fabric or, in some cases, bamboo based. But the item of clothing isn't going to be going into bins in a landfill. Thank you. Thanks very much. Unfortunately, that is all the time we have. I'll pass on to Jake to continue with our session. Thanks so much for everyone here and well done. It can be scary speaking in front of so many people. But you all did very well. And I can tell you have really done a lot of research and you've put a lot of hard work into these presentations and we're now going to call for a vote. You'll vote on which climate idea you think is the best and most important, but you'll each have one vote. None of the adults here will have a vote. So this is just for the young people. So you'll each receive a ballot paper with each of the five ideas on. These look like ballot papers, you'll get voting in local and general elections. Put one cross next to the idea that you think is the most important. You can only choose one idea to vote for. Then fold your paper in half and come to the front to the ballot box, which is there. Thank you. You will place your vote into the ballot boxes. This is so that it's it's verified, and you know that there were no votes in there before then. Okay, so when you get your ballot paper, it's very important you only put one cross in one of the boxes. Any other marks on your ballot paper would mean that it's a spoiled ballot and it wouldn't count. So read through those ideas and put a cross next to the one idea that you support the most. Okay. Thank you, everyone. So we're starting to vote now, so if you stay in your seats and Lawrence and Nicole will invite you to come forward and put your vote into the ballot boxes. So, like I said, these are the ballot boxes that are used in elections. And this is how you would vote in the future when you come to do when you come to vote when you're 18. Okay. Can I just check? Has everybody voted? I'm going to walk around the room. Has everybody voted? I'll take that for you. Just check. You've all voted. Everybody voted? I'll take your pencils. Thank you so much. Have you all voted? Thank you. Yeah. Okay, so we're going to draw the vote to a close. Now everybody has voted. If you haven't voted, please let me know now. Has everybody voted? Wonderful. Okay, so we're gonna now we will start to count. What we're gonna do is open the boxes, check that there's the right number of votes there for all of you, and then we're going to count and verify. And then we'll announce which idea has got the most votes. Okay, so bear with us. We're going to do the count. Now you can talk about yourselves or you can You can watch while that happens. Working. Okay. Can I get everybody's attention, please? The vote has been counted and the vote has been verified. I'm going to hand the results to the chair of our debate and the chair of the Youth Council. Thank you, Rodrigo. Okay. So the number of votes recorded for each proposal is as follows. For the first proposal increase the amount of renewable energy supplied in the borough, including the renewable energy supplied on school land, which will require finance and advice the borough to enable the use and production of sustainable energy sources for heating and lighting. The number of recorded votes was 8. Pardon me. For the second proposal. Make it easier and safer to walk and cycle to school by having more and safer cycle lanes, safer crossings, walking routes, trails, traffic restrictions and better paths. The number of votes recorded was 8. For the proposal for insulation grants for homes in Stockport, the number of votes recorded was 5. For making eco friendly, biodegradable or reusable period products more accessible and affordable in schools, the number of votes recorded was 17. And finally the number of votes recorded for schools design awareness raising posters about climate change and the council fund printing, mounting and distribution in local communities. The number of votes recorded for this was 7. Thus, with these results, I hereby declare make eco friendly, biodegradable or reusable period products more affordable in schools is the winning idea. Congratulations. I just want to say well done to everyone who came here for coming out to the debate, and it's really important that we have a say in our futures as it's our futures that climate change will effect. I'm really pleased to say that every single idea that has been submitted during this process will be given to councillors of Stockport Council to read. And the winning idea will be presented to councillors in July as recommendations on behalf of schools across Stockport. To end we all wanted to say just one thing which stuck with us today. I'll go first, I'm actually quite impressed and surprised that so many young people are trying to get involved with the environment and just how thought out all your ideas were. For myself, i think the thing that stood out was how passionately every single one of the arguments was presented and how sort of young people are so motivated to sort of try and find change. And as a member of youth Parliament, one of my main sort of goals was to sort of improve awareness amongst young people about climate change and really do something about climate change and events like this really do enable young people to propose their views and sort of debate and share opinions, which I think is a really, really good sort of great opportunity for you. To voice your views. And for me, it's the fact that everyone is quite brave for speaking out today and speaking in front of large crowds. It's quite a large fear of mine myself. So yes, and finally thank you all for being here today. And it's really great to have been part of this event with you all. And I will now hand over to Councillor Mark Hunter, the leader of Stockport Council, to wrap up their event. Before I invite Councillor Hunter just to speak, I did just want to say thank you to you all. That was truly, truly inspirational. Sat back there taking notes of the ideas that you have [mic cuts off] How you respond to the criticism, all the questions that were put to you. It's not easy to respond immediately, in public, in the way that you did. So thank you for all of your efforts. What I would say is, I'm going to be disappointed if I don't see some of you in this chamber in the next 10 or 15 years when you're able to be elected, because that's what we need. We need young people taking the reins on some of these issues here in the borough, and you've demonstrated today how capable you are. Just a quick thank you also to the staff that have managed to organise this event for us today and for the teachers for supporting it. Thank you so much for your time. It's been fantastic to sit and listen to you. And I'm going to hand over to Councillor Mark Hunter, he's the leader of the council here at Stockport. Thank you. It's great to see all here in the council chamber. I want to just say well done to all of you for your ideas and your input into this session. I hope you enjoyed it as the councillors here, there are several councillors from different political parties who have been here all morning listening to your discussions, and they've already said to me how impressed they've been by the commitment, dedication and enthusiasm that you put across in addressing some really significant and in some cases difficult issues to talk about. So well done to all of you for playing your part tonight. You're a great credit to yourselves and to your individual schools. So firstly, I'd like to give yourselves a bug round of applause. This is the beginning rather than the end of this particular initiative and you possibly already know but in just a few weeks time, all the ideas that we voted on today will be being presented to a full meeting of Stockport Council which will take place in this very room. I am sat right there at the end of that bench, as leader of the council, to make sure that all colleagues are listening to the results of your deliberations today. This is just the start of it. Everything that you've said we will be listening to, we've been taking notes of, and we're committed, as elected councillors of the wider community, to make sure there's some action to follow through on the various initiatives that you've discussed today. But you've been really impressive. You've been really clear about what priorities. Listening to the results of the vote carries a great deal of interest. And that sends a pretty powerful message that one particular aspect that was voted on came through so strongly at the end. Because they were all good ideas they were all good, worthwhile initiatives. And one of them clearly has a powerful mandate and that will be reflected back to the council meeting. And we will be looking to do what we can do as an individual council, to make sure that agenda is progressed. So really, Congratulations on this. That should be the word I sued right from the start I suppose, because this is the first of this kind of event I believe held in the country! So once again, where Stockport leads, others will follow. And it's been a really good thing to do. I hope you've enjoyed working in your schools before you came here and from what I understand, everybody has, that's great. I'd also like to take the opportunity to thank the members of the Stockport Youth Council who are here today and have played such an important part to make sure the event runs smoothly. So thank you again. Please do follow up on these ideas. Please tell your parents, grandparents, relatives, friends what you've been doing, because it is important you've actually helped us formulate ideas going forward about one of the most important things to people who are probably yourselves in our schools right now. Because you will be not just the adults of the future but the politicians of the future and from what I've seen today I'll be very surprised if at least a handful of you don't come through you right in the course of time to be elected councillors in Stockport. And if I'm still around, I very much look forward to welcoming you to that. But well done everybody, you've heard quite enough from me. Congratulations to yourselves, you're a great credit to yourselves and to your schools. Thank you very much indeed for all that hard work you've put in. Cheers. If you would come to the front please, we'd love to get a group photograph with anyone who wants to be in that photograph. Yeah.