THE Young Essex Assembly (YEA), the elected youth council for Essex, and members of ESCAN recently met at County Hall, Chelmsford. The youngsters learnt about climate change and workshopped a Young Person’s Climate Advice Pack.
The workshop was led by the Essex Environment and Climate Action team and the Essex Youth Service, supported by the Essex Year of Opportunity.
The Essex Year of Opportunity is a £1.33 million campaign for 2026. Through projects and partnerships with organisations, it removes barriers into work and education for all ages by teaching essential skills.
The young people had the opportunity to meet and discuss career paths with a variety of officers working in climate and environment. This was an example of the governments new modern work experience expectations rolling out from September 2026.
The group of around 30 young people from around the county heard from experts about the key issues in the climate and the advice packs. Later, they discussed how they could develop and promote the advice packs to young people in their local areas.
Supporting the initiative, Councillor Tony Ball, Essex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education Excellence, Lifelong Learning and Employability, said: “It is wonderful that our Young Essex Assembly members are so engaged with climate issues, not just in the county but nationally and globally.”
Councillor Peter Schwier, Cabinet Member for Environment, Waste Reduction and Recycling at Essex County Council, added: “I applaud our Young Essex Assembly and ESCAN for coming together and holding serious discussions about one of the biggest issues we face. The Young Person’s Climate Advice Pack is designed to connect with younger generations, whose support we will surely need for a better environment.”
The event inspired lots of young people to engage with climate issues. Some took the opportunity to arrange further work experience opportunities.
Amelia Adams, 14, from the South YEA said: “We learnt a lot on the environment, how we need it and the jobs in the environment.”
Joy Heyworth, 19, from Rayleigh said: “We were able to communicate wider issues around the environmentalism and learnt about job opportunities in the sector. I’m passionate about spending some time working for the environment.”
George, 15, from Basildon said: “I think the day was very beneficial to learn about current climate projects and also hope for the future and that our suggestions will be listened to and used to expand current projects further. We need more help for clean energy, support for local nature and parks. I love being out in my community doing litter picks and helping the environment.”
Tyler, 17 from Southend said: “Today I realised the Civil Service is much bigger than I expected and party politics is dividing in the country. But it’s the Civil Service that gets things done behind closed doors. Once we can communicate this to the public, we can get a lot more done, not just in Essex but across the nation. We can get a lot more done together than being divided by parties.”
The young people will be coming together again at the end of April in Colchester Zoo to finish developing the advice pack and to meet some other people working in the field (and the zoo).
To discover more, visit www.essexyearofopportunity.co.uk.
