Worthing eco warriors question MP on environmental issues

Young eco warriors took the opportunity to grill MP Tim Loughton on environmental and recycling issues when he visited their Worthing school.
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Pupils at Whytemead Primary School in Dominion Road have been taking steps to make their school more environmentally friendly, led by teacher Helena Reilley.

This has included encouraging more wildlife to visit by using bird and bee boxes, reducing colour photo copying and reducing the amount of paper used by the school.

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In the summer, a delegation of eco warriors from the school took part in the Eco Summit for the Eco, Young & Engaged Project hosted by Worthing High School, meeting more than 300 other eco warriors from schools across the area.

At the summit, pupils from 27 schools took part in various activities including building and racing solar cars and flying kites with kitesurfer Lewis Crathern, as well as discussing environmental issues to learn more about what they can do to help.

Mr Loughton, East Worthing and Shoreham MP, is the founder of the project and was invited to answer some questions from the young activists on Monday (November 26).

He held an assembly, explaining what it means to be an MP and what a typical week looks like for him, before opening the floor to questions from the eco warriors.

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The pupils posed questions about subjects including the effects of global warming, reducing plastic pollution and electric car charging stations in Worthing.

Whytemead Primary School welcomed Tim Loughton to meet the school's eco warriors and learn about how they are helping the environmentWhytemead Primary School welcomed Tim Loughton to meet the school's eco warriors and learn about how they are helping the environment
Whytemead Primary School welcomed Tim Loughton to meet the school's eco warriors and learn about how they are helping the environment

Head teacher Gavin Ward said he was very impressed with the efforts of the children, who have been making sure he does not heat his office above 20 degrees by installing a thermometer.

Classes are rewarded when they are being very environmentally friendly and all the eco warriors are very interested in the topic of improving the planet and people’s lifestyles.

The bird boxes were set up by the group of 30 pupils after asking for funding from the Friends of Whytemead so more wildlife could be encouraged into the grounds.

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Funding has led to live web cams being set up in the bird boxes, so pupils and their parents can stream video of what is happening in order to understand bird lifecycles.

With many ideas about how to improve Worthing, and the planet, it came as no surprise when Mr Loughton asked how many of the group would like to become MPs one day and more than half raised their hands.

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