Good Life Schools Programme Launches in Carmarthenshire to Promote Sustainable Living

In a new effort to promote sustainability, Carmarthenshire Council is excited to announce its participation in the Good Life Schools programme. This innovative, student-led initiative aims to educate and inspire secondary school students to adopt lower consumption lifestyles and become proactive leaders in their communities.

Beginning in the 2024-25 academic year, the Good Life Schools programme will engage 11-18-year-olds across five Carmarthenshire secondary schools: Ysgol Coedcae, Ysgol Bryngwyn, Ysgol Bro Dinefwr, Ysgol Gyfun Emlyn, and Maes y Gwendraeth. Through this programme, students will explore the impact of high consumption on both the environment and personal wellbeing. They will also collaborate to develop a ‘Good Life Charter’ for their school communities, promoting long-term commitments to reduce consumption and enhance overall wellbeing.

The Good Life Schools programme, delivered by the environmental charity Global Action Plan, will be implemented across 60 schools in Yorkshire, the Midlands, South Wales, and North East England. With a long-term vision of national expansion, the programme aims to empower communities throughout the UK to independently run similar initiatives.

Supported by a generous grant of over £1.1 million from The National Lottery Community Fund’s Climate Action Fund, the programme is designed to address the pressing issue of over-consumption, which impacts both environmental health and personal wellbeing.

Cllr Aled Vaughan Owen, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Decarbonisation and Sustainability said:

The launch of the Good Life Schools programme marks a significant step forward in our commitment to fostering a culture of sustainability and climate action within our communities. By engaging our young people in meaningful discussions about consumption and environmental impact, we are not only empowering them to make informed choices but also ensuring that they become active participants in shaping a more sustainable future.”

Dr. Morgan Phillips, Director of Education and Youth Engagement at Global Action Plan, stated:

Over-consumption not only harms the health of our planet, but also has a detrimental impact on our mental and physical wellbeing. Thanks to National Lottery players, we are enabling school communities across the UK to explore and experience what it means to lead happier, lower-impact lives.

Through our Good Life Schools programme, we hope to empower a generation of young people to act collectively for the good of people and planet, creating the climate-resilient, sustainable, and compassionate society we need.”

Nick Gardner, Head of Climate Action at The National Lottery Community Fund, added:

Young people today are growing up in a world full of pressures – some very visible, others less so. What we buy and consume as we go about our daily lives has an important environmental impact; if everyone in the world lived like the average UK citizen, we would need around two and a half planets to support them. It’s important to set out the ‘why’ but also to move beyond this to the ‘how’. The National Lottery’s Climate Action Fund supports hundreds of projects across the UK which support local communities to take climate action in a variety of ways. This imaginative project aims to encourage school pupils to consider (together) the wider impacts of their purchasing decisions as well as offering support for those who want to take positive environmental action.”