In February a local writing competition was held, with the theme of Clean Growth, as an offshoot of the Sidmouth Science Festival. Here are two of the winning entries. Eight-year-old Oliver Stevens is runner-up in the primary school category with his Climate Change Rap, and Elisabeth Robertson is joint winner in the public category with The Sea is Full of Plastic.
What I would do to help stop the effects of climate change on Sidmouth…
Climate Change Rap
I would ban all plastic from our school
Single use plastic is not cool!
Now listen here to this, cool dude,
Don’t wrap plastic around your food!
Cutting down trees is not the way
If you do this our planet will pay.
Don’t buy palm oil because forests get cut down
More greenhouse gases get released in our town.
Stop leaving litter on the beach
Otherwise the animals it will reach
Doing all this will keep our town clean
And a healthier planet this will mean!
By Oliver Stevens Class 3/4S Sidmouth CE Primary, age 8
The sea is full of plastic
The sea is full of plastic, there’s litter on the beach
There’s hordes and hordes of parking cars, choking up the streets
We’re squandering resources, without a thought or care
And adding to the burden of the carbon in the air
The temperature is rising, it’s too good to be true
As it’s bringing types of weather, the like of which we never knew
The world is out to self-destruct, I’m feeling down and blue
Surely there are things to help that you and I can do?
We’re each like tiny pebbles, sitting out of reach
But massed together, stone on stone, collectively, a beach!
We need to audit lifestyles, we really have to try
If only so that we can look our young folk in the eye
Walking’s good
It keeps you fit
Saves taking out a car
Cuts down the fumes
Frees up the streets
Shows you where you are
Connect with nature
Plant a tree
Eat fruit and veg in season
Encourage wildflowers in your lawn
Don’t weed-kill without reason
Use local shops and local trades
Support your nearby town
By cutting all those extra miles
We’ll keep carbon levels down
Eating, drinking on the go?
Think ahead and plan
Take a cup
A sandwich box
Cut packaging where you can
Upcycling is lots of fun
Find your creative side
Re-jig old stuff
You’ll be amazed
What treasures you may find
Plastic’s great!
Such useful stuff
We use it everywhere
Don’t treat it as a throw-away
Re-use, re-use with care
Take an interest in your neighbours
Focus on well-being
Look outward -
Think of consequences and
Exactly what you’re doing
The sea is full of plastic, there’s litter on the beach
Become aware and do your share
To avert climate change catastrophe.
By Elisabeth Robertson
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