Frome College students demand action on climate and community issues

Students from Frome College have voiced their growing concerns about climate change and their community's future.

The students participated in the Earth House initiative, where they expressed their anxiety and hopes for a more sustainable world, and spoke to Frome Town Council at the June meeting.

Neve, a year ten student, captured the sense of urgency felt by her peers: "I’m here to speak about the looming feeling of climate change and how it affects us as a generation. Even in my life, things have unfortunately had a change for the worse," she said. "It's a bit like watching it on a screen, playing out in front of me, and I'm scratching and clawing at the screen and I can't do anything about it. I'm hoping that this might make a change.

“It's always, ‘we hear you’, but are we listening? It's a looming feeling. It's a bit like a storm on the horizon of my generation's future and the generation to come. So what can we do about it? Closer and more clear cooperation would be a start. It would be really important and vital to walk towards a future with as much investment into the environment as possible.”

Tallis, a year nine student, emphasised the need for better understanding between generations.

"As a student at Frome College, I feel that our community doesn't know what the younger generation is like,” she said. “How are they meant to help us get better at looking after the environment if they don't know what we're like?"

"I can feel an expectation for us all to be shoplifting, vaping, and being a problem to people. I'm aware that this is not everyone, but this makes me feel isolated from the older generation.

“These feelings towards students could be prevented if the community were able to set up more ways to get to know us. This could be offering more work experience placements. This could help students interact and get to know more people, or making more clubs accessible to the younger generation. It could be also as simple as smiling at someone, helping us feel like we're part of the community we live in.”

Jack, a year ten student and member of Frome Canoe Club, highlighted the challenges faced by local clubs: "As a club, we are underfunded and under-advertised. This has happened to multiple other clubs around Frome. The advertising is one of the main issues because without advertising we get no new members, which means no new funding," Jack explained.

"More students being added to Frome Canoe Club would mean a greater mix between the youth and older generations. This would have an impact on changing the views about the youth."

Belle, a year nine student, expressed her frustration with litter and the need for more green spaces. "The fields are full of rubbish, and personally, I think when I see these places, how can I help?" Belle said. "Litter falls into these places by animals going through overfilled bins and the wind toppling over piles of rubbish. I feel like we need more green space for biodiversity to thrive and flourish."

Bella, another year nine student, addressed the issue of inadequate recycling facilities at their school.

"On our naturally very green school site, rubbish is everywhere. It is also disappointing because it seems as though nothing is being done," she said. "The amount of single-use plastic our canteen sells, and the distinct shortage of bins, especially recycling bins, means the rubbish from our school is just thrown away without anyone worrying about where it's going."

Esmé, another student, spoke about the rise in illegal activities among her peers and the consequent negative perceptions.

"Recently, there has been an increase in illegal acts happening around Frome, mainly with my age group,” she said. “For example, drug dealing, shoplifting, trespassing, which also gives other teenagers a bad reputation.

"One solution would be more CCTV. There are not a lot of CCTV cameras, which can explain why people are able to get away so easily with certain things."

She also suggested improving lighting in public spaces to enhance safety: "Frome is not very well lit. There are a lot of dark places and alleyways that make it uncomfortable to walk home.

“As someone who takes an hour to get home and in the winter when the sun sets early, by the time I am home, the sun has set and I have to use the flash on my phone."

Emma Reynolds from Frome College praised the students' commitment to the Earth House initiative: "These Earth House ambassadors are beginning to develop the college site, increasing biodiversity through tree planting and the regeneration of the college pond.

"We now have an outside learning space for all to use. We've become green connectors, listened, learned, and begun to plan for careers that focus on sustainability."

Councillor Nick Dove expressed his support and shared his perspective on community safety and environmental issues. "Everything you've talked about, I think it's fair to say, are the things that we talk about as well, but from a different perspective," Cllr Dove said. "From my perspective, walking through the town centre at any time of day, I always try to make eye contact and smile at people. The fear of crime is much greater than the actual crime."

Councillor Andy Wrintmore and Sue Palmer, from Green and Healthy Frome, also voiced their support. Wrintmore highlighted the importance of a direct line of communication between the council and the college, while Palmer highlighted the shared passion for climate change and the future.