This year Youth Action chose bees and pollinators for their Art Competition subject. We invited entrants to draw, paint or photograph a bee or any other pollinating insect. Why? Because they are amazing! Also they are very important to all of us as they help our fruit and vegetables to grow, they pollinate our food crops and if they disappeared we would all go hungry. We thought they needed celebrating!
All of us can help to make sure these insects stay safe by planting the flowers they love to visit, also by asking people to not use insecticides in their gardens in parks or on road verges.
Thank you to all who have sent us their Photographs and Artwork. We have had some fantastic entries this year, indeed they are all worthy of a prize! The competition itself will be judged by a local Nature artist and a member of MCA committee. Winners will be announced by the end of April
Draw, Paint or Photograph a pollinating insect, e.g., Bees, Butterflies, Wasps, Flies, etc. Take a good clear photo of your Artwork
To enter from HOME, email your photo, first name and age, plus parent’s name and contact details by Friday 31st March to
Subject Line – MCA Spring Art Competition
To enter from SCHOOL Email child’s photo, first name and age plus teacher contact name and school by Friday 31st March to:-
Moorlands Climate Action were invited to contribute to a wonderful Youth Conference ‘Together for Our Planet’ held in Buxton on the 10th November. Transition Buxton, with Education outreach leader Frances Sussex, organised the event to coincide with COP 27. Transition Buxton used their ‘Together for Our Planet’ National Lottery grant to fund it.
Beforehand, schools in Buxton, High Peak and Leek/Buxton College were sent a PowerPoint presentation, outlining the idea and aims of the ‘Together for our Planet’ Youth Conference, plus an invitation to take part. Teachers were encouraged to ask students to discuss and decide what questions they wanted answering about climate/environmental topics. They were also encouraged to list positive actions that they were already doing at school to help the planet. Students were to bring their questions and actions to share at the conference.
In this issue, we celebrate a young climate activist who lives in Leek - Ed Daly. He not only loves nature but works incessantly to protect and support wildlife. Before Covid, he was well known for his Leek market stall Ed's Shed, where he sold his own bird feeders, nest boxes and decorations, all out of natural materials and widely popular. We hope he will be able to return. In the meantime, here is his article on tree maintenance, a very important issue that's often overlooked in our enthusiasm to get trees into the ground. Thanks Ed.
3 Ds for Trees
We all know that we need to plant more trees to help in the battle against climate change. But in my short time doing conservation work, planting is only the first step in getting the tree from sapling to maturity. What we need to focus on is that trees need a maintenance plan.
The 3 Ds for trees are Dead, Diseased and Damaged. If the tree shows signs of any of the 3Ds, you must do something about it swiftly.
Identifying a dead tree in the summer is relatively easy as it is likely to be devoid of foliage. For example, Ash dieback, is very common in Ash trees and can be identified by lesions on infected bark so urgent action needs to be taken.
A diseased tree may start to die back from the crown known as 'stag heading' as branches will lose the foliage from the crown of the tree.
A damaged tree may be difficult to spot when in full leaf, especially if the tree is covered in ivy as this can mask any damage. This is why foresters are not keen on ivy. It masks damage to the tree and makes calculating the volume of timber in a tree difficult. If the bark on a tree becomes damaged,it can expose it to diseases and to the elements.
What action should be taken if branches on a tree appear to be dead, diseased or damaged?
If your tree has a dead, damaged or diseased limb, it is possible to remove these by yourself using loppers or a bow saw depending on the size of the limb and, if it's within easy reach, always wear the appropriate PPE and work within your capabilities. If in doubt, contact a professional, as tree work can be dangerous and if carried out inappropriately it can cause more damage to the tree.
Edward Daly
As part of the very successful Energy Fair that was held recently, Youth Engagement offered children and family activities upstairs in the Rainbow Room.
All the activities were linked to energy in some way, including a simple circuit, wind up torches, electrical ‘buzz’ games, a static electricity experiment, making model houses with tiny solar panels and making windmills and energy superhero colouring sheets. We were also fortunate to have some real solar panels outside on the balcony which we could show to everyone. Most people had never seen them close up before!
During the day we had about a dozen customers, all of whom seemed to enjoy themselves. While they were taking part in the activities we had the opportunity to chat to the children and their parents about energy, climate change and Moorlands Climate Action: raising awareness and maybe recruiting some new members. We gave out one of our Activity Packs to everyone who came.
Peter, who is only ten, has been at 4th Leek Scouts for a few months now. At one meeting a few weeks ago we were talking about Climate Change and he suddenly said he wished there was a big button we could press to stop it!
- Climate Activity Pack for Children, Families and Schools
- Young Climate Activists - Are their voices being heard?
- ‘Blah, Blah, Blah’
- Be a Climate Hero and get your Blue Peter Green Badge!
- Young Climate Activist – Licypriya Kangujam
- (Very) Young Climate Activist
- Young Locals Living Green
- Young Climate Activists ‘Teach the Future’ – for Climate Crisis Education
- Global Youth Action to Shame the 'Grown-Ups'
- Young Climate Activist Isabella Bridgeman and others
- Helping Children and Young People Deal with Eco-anxiety
- Young Activists