Join the SEEd Sustainability Journey
I will if you will… is an exercise we use with participants on our SEEd Changemaker programmes and many of our events and workshops. Participants make small or large commitments to help them make changes towards sustainability. The underlying idea is that we are all connected and responsible for each other, therefore changing the world and making it more sustainable requires us to work together. Now, the SEEd team has integrated the exercise into our newsletter and we invite you, as a member of our community, to join us on this journey of Commitment, Joy & Impact.
We are here to help each other, so we designed a journey that is easy to follow, where you have the possibility of choice, can feel and exercise what change is like, and most importantly, feel happy instead of anxious about your actions. Believe me, making a change can be fun!
All we ask of you during this upcoming month is to choose one COMMITMENT from the list below that you are eager to try out; one JOY that helps you relax and keep your journey fun; and one IMPACT idea that you find interesting enough to then spread the word to friends, colleagues, family members, or anyone you encounter. Easy, isn’t it? But more importantly, by following the steps you can change your lifestyle, your mindset, and empower others to follow suit. Like a real change maker.
Please do share your actions and commitments with us by email or on social media.
Commitment
In this special edition, we are delighted to share some of the inspiring commitments students in the SEEd Young Changemakers programme have made by connecting with their local community and business groups. This is the beginning of developing intergenerational approaches to their sustainability work.
- Yangrima School, Nepal – Young Changemakers have also spread their ‘seeds’ to Nepal. Students from Yangrima Secondary School in Kathmandu visited various organizations and communities in Langtang and Sermathang to explore themes of conservation, sustainability, and local leadership. These field visits provided students with unique learning opportunities and left them inspired by the dedication and resilience of small teams and local initiatives.
One group visited the Langtang National Park Office in Sermathang, where they learned about the park’s mission to conserve wildlife, forests, and endangered species. The students were especially surprised by the early conflicts between villagers and park authorities, which were sparked by restrictions on forest access.“We didn’t expect that protecting the forest would initially face so much resistance from the local people.”Despite these challenges, the park now actively collaborates with local schools and communities through awareness campaigns and environmental programs.“We realized how important collaboration between park staff, schools, and villagers is to ensure long-term sustainability.”
Another group conducted research, interviewing staff and reviewing program records at the Just Nepal Foundation (JNF), which has worked since 2015 to promote education, environmental awareness and social inclusion. Students were impressed by how much the foundation had achieved with limited staff. “From this visit, we understood that hard work and dedication are more important than the size of a team. We also learned the importance of keeping good records and monitoring progress.”
A third group visited the Sermathang Women’s Group, which has been active since 2000. They were deeply moved by the group’s efforts to promote peace, enforce community rules and protect the environment. Students learned that even without formal education, the women showed strong leadership and organization. “We were surprised to see how effective and well-organized the group is,” they wrote. The women’s group enforces strict environmental rules, coordinates with the national park and schools and maintains emergency funds. The group’s practice of rotating leadership every five years also impressed students, as it encourages wider participation and skill development among women.
A final group returned to Langtang National Park for a broader understanding of its mission. The park, established in 1976 and spanning 1,710 square kilometers, is home to several endangered Himalayan species. Students were touched by the staff’s kindness and hospitality. “They answered our questions patiently and even offered us fruits and tea,” one group wrote. The visit highlighted the importance of community collaboration and education in ensuring the park’s sustainability.
Across all visits, students consistently recognized that successful conservation and development efforts rely not only on formal resources but also on collaboration, commitment, and local engagement. “Protecting the environment is not just the job of park staff — everyone can contribute.” Thanks to YCM, these student groups gained powerful, hands-on experiences and a renewed sense of responsibility toward their communities and the environment. - Archway School, Stroud – The Biodiversity Team thought about how environmental issues are relevant to their school and where they could have the biggest positive impact. “We hoped to achieve better education in schools about growing food and where your food comes from, in order to decrease food waste.” They built on plans from the year before and succeeded in sustaining biodiversity action at their school. They researched possible solutions more broadly, also by getting first-hand advice from people at their school. They experienced the hardship of organising a small team and even experienced “vandalism” from some of their peers. Still, they managed to overcome these barriers and take successful action by creating a wildflower meadow. Their supervising teacher, James, reflects on the students’ project as follows: “The biodiversity group have scarified and sown local, native wildflower seed on approx. 0.3 acres of land in the school. After contacting Councillor Gill Thomas from Stroud District Council, students decided to tie their biodiversity improvements alongside the Gloucestershire Nature Recovery Plan. Students then carried out an identification survey in one of the improved areas using apps and counted at least 37 species — more than doubling the previous count before the seed sowing. Students are hoping to continue identification and monitoring, whilst looking at ways to communicate this to the whole school and wider community. Time management was a key issue with this group this year, but they recognised this as a barrier and an area to work on next year.”
- King’s School, Gloucester – The broad range of actions the students took this their first year shows their understanding of systems, creativity in planning and resilience in making change happen. Let them tell their stories through their bright and vivid posters:
Photo from: King’s School
Other Schools involved in the Young Changemakers Programme 2019-25 included Wellington College, Clifton College, Rendcomb College, Abbey College Cambridge, Stroud High School, SGS College (Stroud Campus), Marling School, The Grove (Stroud), The Acorn School, King Edward’s School (Witley) and Comberton Village College.
To find out more about the impact Young Changemakers is having on young people, give our Young Changemakers Evaluation Report – An Amazing Journey – a read. For more about what young people are thinking and doing, read Sir Jonathon Porritt’s latest book, where he interviewed 26 young people involved with Just Stop Oil about their thoughts and feelings around climate action and their futures.
Joy
JOY in our newsletter is always there for you to help maintain a constructive mindset on such an unsettling issue as creating a sustainable future. This month won’t be different! We are delighted to introduce you to some truly amazing young people in SEEd. We will be exploring their favourite work of art and sharing some inspiring thoughts to help you develop a sustainability mindset.
- Zoë – was the first representative of our Youth Board, who has now written a glowing review of her favourite book, Habitat Man by D. A. Bade: “Habitat Man is a fiction book about a man that leaves his job following a life-coaching session and becomes the local ‘Habitat Man’ giving advice to friends and neighbours on how to improve biodiversity in their gardens. It is a light-hearted, at times comedic read that touches on various themes, including grief, love and the climate crisis. I think it is a powerful little book about the importance and value of community both for addressing the climate and biodiversity crises and also in enriching our own lives. It is a gentle read that is beautifully written. It’s also just very cool to read a fiction book about ecology, conservation and a love for compost!” You can read more about the book on the writer’s official website.
- George – You have probably heard a lot from George, our Programmes and Communications Coordinator. Here, George shares a tiny piece of his amazing workethics. He reveals another side of himself as he shares his thoughts on one of his favourite artworks “The Great Wave” (c.1830s) by Hokusai that reflects his passion for nature. “As I write this, I have a small copy printed on a paperweight in front of me, the image of towering waves over tiny fishing boats and Mount Fuji in the distance being powerful, yet strangely calming. It reminds me of the ocean’s rhythm, the peace I feel near water and also of our relationship with nature – the vastness of the wave highlights human vulnerability, yet the fishermen don’t flee; they endure. It’s a quiet reminder of our resilience, our dependence on the sea, and our responsibility to protect it – not just for ourselves but for future generations. Sustainability, after all, is the art of using nature wisely and maintaining it so it can endure and flourish beyond us.”
- Keira – a member of our Youth Board, raises our attention towards the economic aspect of sustainability. “One of my favourite books on climate change is Environomics: How the Green Economy is Transforming Your World by Dharshini David. It pulls together all aspects of sustainability in an economic context and explains these matters in an easily digestible way.” Environomics explores how everyday consumer choices, such as buying coffee, clothing or technology, are tied to global economic systems and environmental impact. Complex topics such as energy use, supply chains, rare earth materials and carbon footprints are broken down through a day-in-the-life format. The book illustrates how individual habits are connected to broader issues such as climate change, inequality and sustainability, rendering economics personal and urgent. It encourages informed, practical thinking without being alarmist or overly technical. “I found this an extremely interesting and easy read, and most importantly, I felt more educated on the topic of sustainability after putting it down.” You can read more on the book here.
- Emily – another Youth Board member, shares another piece of fiction emphasising the book’s strong emotional references to our real-world issues. “My favourite work of art is Mortal Engines by Phillip Reeve, a futuristic novel for young people. It opened my mind to concepts of human greed, exploitation of people and the environment, and what it takes to stand up for what you believe in.” Set over a thousand years after the devastating “Sixty Minute War,” Mortal Engines imagines a world where steampunk-style mobile cities—called Traction Cities—roam the wastelands, consuming smaller settlements in a brutal system dubbed “Municipal Darwinism.” One such city is London, driven by huge engines and social class hierarchies across its tiers. History apprentice Tom Natsworthy encounters the scarred outsider Hester Shaw when London captures her town, triggering a deadly chase through the city’s underbelly. Their unlikely bond uncovers hidden conspiracies and threatens the very foundation of their pursuers’ world. “This book references sustainability as we can draw a parallel with Reeve’s depiction of a world in which humans are actively destroying themselves and the world they rely on. The glimmer of hope in this book comes from the group who campaign for a better future, much like many in our world.” You can read more about this eye-opening fiction here.
Photo from: wikipedia.org
Impact
Sometimes, solutions and great ideas are not waiting to be invented but are already out there. Somewhere. In this special edition we selected some impactful solutions that are closely aligned with SEEd Young Changemakers and have been executed by young people. Which of these impactful solutions will you choose to spread the word about to your students, colleagues, friends and family?
- Sustainability Conference at Abbey College Cambridge – In March, students from Abbey College Cambridge who are also participating in the SEEd Young Changemakers Programme organised and hosted a sustainability conference that brought together 60 students from five schools to explore practical solutions to environmental challenges. The conference opened with keynote speeches that framed the day’s discussions. SEEd’s Founder, Ann Finlayson, held an interactive talk about the complexity of understanding change and becoming a changemaker, encouraging students to look for opportunities in the spheres that they can already control or influence.
At the end of her talk, Ann conducted the activity she designed on mindsets using the Imperialist–Arcadian scale. Students had to place themselves on a virtual spectrum between the Imperialist mindset — “We can use the Earth’s resources as we want” — and the Arcadian mindset — “Mother Earth is the only one who can fix problems and control Nature. We can’t!” Most students chose to stand around the middle of the scale, saying there are things in nature we can control and some we can’t. But one boy, showing true criticality, did not stand on the line, as he thought the issue of sustainability was more complex than could be captured by a two-dimensional scale.
Further talks from Naheed Bardai, Principal of UWC Atlantic College, introduced students to crucial climate and societal data and encouraged them to attend to their bodies and be aware of their feelings as they processed the worrying information. This experience helped students navigate between their anxieties and their hopefulness to make change. Lastly, Bruce Liggitt from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) highlighted the importance of global collaboration in biodiversity preservation.
Following the keynotes, students participated in an interactive activity where they received waste materials like cardboard boxes and plastic bottles to create a sustainable school or city. In this activity, students had the opportunity to engage with sustainability, considering several interlinking systems and modelling their ideas visually—similar to what is imagined, planned, and executed in real-school, real-world contexts as part of SEEd Young Changemakers. According to supervising teacher Bea, her initial suggestion would have been to do small-group presentations; however, the students wanted something new and more hands-on, so they came up with the idea of building models. As the students were given space for their ideas, the room started to rumble and come to life. Their engagement was obvious in their eyes, their excited communication with each other—even between students who didn’t know each other before—and in their works of imagination.
Each group developed proposals to address the challenges of a sustainable school or city, which they presented to peers and staff. Solutions ranged from digital screens that display classroom CO₂ emissions (self-programmed by two previously silent boys who became group leaders), to using reinforcements instead of harsh city rules, and redesigning a school building’s shape to reflect the interconnectedness of subjects instead of separating them. One group proposed a large forum next to the school where young people could participate in decision-making. These solutions reflected the knowledge the students had gained from the earlier talks.
Eshika reflects on her experience at the conference as follows: “Attending the Sustainability Conference was a transformative opportunity that deepened my understanding of how we can all contribute to a more sustainable future. This would not have been possible without our inspiring guest speakers, who explained how sustainability can be integrated into our daily lives. This empowered me to believe that despite our young age, collaboratively we can make a large-scale impact. This was further emphasised during Ann Finlayson’s talk. The Arcadian vs. Imperialist line activity showcased that sustainability is a goal we can pursue together, even with differing opinions. Another key takeaway was the concern–influence–action mechanism, which helped me learn that identifying a problem and presenting it to influencers can lead to quicker and more effective action, rather than approaching decision-makers directly. Overall, the conference inspired me to apply these principles to my own life and support others around me to do the same.” - Cambridge Climate Academy (A Note from Lili, Newsletter Editor) – Doing my internship at SEEd last summer taught me a lot about the power of action—how students going around their school and asking questions can induce further questions in learners. Learners who are not just students, but anyone willing to change and make change.
This year, I had the opportunity to witness another attempt at implementing SEEd’s principle of action. As a member of the Cambridge Climate Society Education Team, together with Myra and Amelia (Executive Lead of the project), we redesigned the Climate Academy into a new, more action and community-based learning opportunity for University of Cambridge students.
From my first-hand experiences as a participant in the previous format of the Academy, I found it strong on sharing expert knowledge but weaker on group work and too abstract in its project focus—the issues were too broad and disconnected from students’ direct experiences to inspire action.
So, we introduced four key changes. First, we chose a local issue for which groups had to develop a solution: Cambridge colleges lacking transparency in measuring and managing emissions from their supply chains. Second, we included practical skills through four expert-led learning sessions—covering systems thinking tools, Environmental Impact Assessments, stakeholder engagement and storytelling with data—to broaden the participants’ problem-solving toolbox. Third, we held a separate team-building event, giving participants time to form groups and bond. They also had space after each session for more effective collaboration. Finally, we decided to implement the winning project as the Climate Society’s focus next year. Let’s see how that goes!
The groups came up with solutions ranging from creating college-based online second-hand shops to reducing litter through a college-wide competition that weighed waste per building and rewarded the most sustainable one. My personal favourite was a project focused on supporting biodiversity on college grounds. This group first spoke with the head gardener to understand the current state of biodiversity. To their surprise, the gardeners were already making huge efforts. The students learned that before proposing change, they must understand what’s already being done. As a result, they organised a series of college-based talks where gardeners could share their work, and students could exchange ideas for improvement.
A year ago, when I came up with the idea of the “Impact” element for the newsletter, this was exactly what I had in mind—learning about actions one can take by looking at existing good practices. So, alongside the super positive feedback on the Academy, I’m most happy to have seen—and to report—this amazing learning experience. - Youth Shadow Panel – We are happy to announce that the final report on youth-led recommendations for education reform, along with an easy-read summary, are now available. On behalf of SEEd, Ann Finlayson is contributing to the various user panels for the DfE Sustainability and Climate Change Unit and contributing to the consultations (Curriculum and Assessment Review, NPQ leadership guidance, working towards a better educational system in England). Similarly, young people like Liv, one of Teach the Future’s student staff members, have been representing Teach the Future as part of the Youth Shadow Panel. This is a group of young people leading the Shadow Curriculum and Assessment Review, with the goal of bringing youth perspectives into government education reform.
Not long ago, the Youth Shadow Panel launched their final report in Parliament, marking a major milestone in the project. The event was met with overwhelming support and was attended by MPs, government representatives, educators, charities, campaigners, children and young people, all united in recognising the importance of the Panel’s work. Over seven months of dedicated effort, the Panel produced a report that reflects the lived experiences of students, is informed by sector expertise, and carefully considers what is realistic and sustainable for teachers and schools to implement. The evidence-based recommendations laid out in the report aim to create a more inclusive, diverse and forward-looking education system—one that better equips young people with the skills and understanding they need for the present and the future.
Since its release, the report has already attracted interest from key figures within government, with several requesting follow-up meetings. To help maximize the report’s impact, Teach the Future is encouraging others to endorse the recommendations by signing the open letter calling on the government to adopt them and to show support on social media by tagging @youthshadowpanel on Instagram. - Catalyse Change Summit and Mentoring Programme – It is always heartening to see the impact of our Changemakers programme. Traci Lewis, an alumni, is the co-founder and programme director of the charity Catalyse Change. The 2025 Catalyst Summit & Mentoring Programme, a transformative opportunity designed specifically for young women aged 18–30, has just opened for applications. The core goal of the programme is to empower young women who are passionate about climate action, social justice and building a purposeful career in sustainability to explore, prepare for and pursue impactful roles in the green economy.
It begins with a two-day online Catalyst Summit on 18th and 25th October 2025, featuring inspirational women speakers, purpose-led businesses and sustainability coaches who will guide participants through creating a personalised Climate Career Compass and development plan. Following the summit, each participant is matched with a female mentor working in sustainability for three months of one-to-one support, focused on confidence-building, career planning and developing leadership skills. The programme also includes five online masterclasses and meet-ups from November 2025 to March 2026, covering topics such as eco-anxiety, ethical AI, green job readiness and personal development. It concludes with a Catalyst Graduation on 25th March 2026, celebrating each participant’s progress and growth. Through mentoring, peer support and expert guidance, the programme equips young women with the clarity, skills and confidence to make a real difference. The Catalyst Summit brings together both the professional and community aspects of young women’s lives at the beginning of their journey toward a meaningful climate career.
To find out more about the impact Changemakers is having on individuals, give our Changemakers Evaluation Report a read.
Taken at Abbey Colledge
