Pupils ‘shocked and proud’ after their winning work is selected for new book on climate change

Mya Johnson's winning artwork will feature on the cover. 

Pupils’ drawings, poems and short stories about climate change will be made into a book.

The SIC’s first climate change creative competition has seen 44 winning entries from pupils at schools throughout Shetland.Now, their winning work will be compiled in a book titled Climate Change From a Young Person’s Perspective.

It will be launched at the Shetland Climate Festival at the Clickimin on 13th September. A roadshow film is also being premiered on the day along with a visual art piece.

The competition was part of the SIC’s first schools climate change roadshow, in which members of the climate change strategy team travelled from Dunrossness to Unst to hear young people’s views and put then at them at forefront of this year’s festival.

North Roe Primary School pupil Mya Johnson, whose artwork will feature on the front cover of the book, said: ”We did lots of different things when the climate roadshow visited us at school.

“We played the carbon game and learned about how so much carbon dioxide affects the environment.

“I think it is important to learn about climate change as it will affect our future.

“I didn’t think I would be chosen for the cover of the book, so when I was told, I felt shocked and proud.

“I wonder what my picture will look like on the cover.”

Climate change officer Anne Leask said the roadshow had been a big success.

“We’ve wanted to engage with young people on this really big topic in a way that’s understandable and relatable from a Shetland perspective,” she said. 

“Young people we’ve spoken to have concerns about climate change, but they also have positive ideas around things like nature-based solutions, transport and walking and cycling.

“I can’t wait for people to see these creative pieces and the great work of those involved.”

Another winning submission, was Sound Primary School pupil Cora V Grant’s poem:

Help or Run

The wave is coming, the wave is coming,

Swishing and Swooshing,

Falling and tumbling,

The wave is coming,

Towering high, high as the sky,

It wants the city to die,

The wave is here,

His plan is clear,

He wants his home back,

So cut him some slack,

We’ve become to greedy,

And way too needy,

It’s not looking great,

It might be too late.

I see a flame it’s coming,

Faster and faster,

Closer and closer,

The orange and red ball,

Is rolling around as far as I can see,

It’s chasing that poor bee,

It affects you and me,

It’s taken many lives,

Humans and animals flee,

The grass is no longer green,

The trees no longer leaves,

The sky is no longer blue,

The sun sometimes breaks through,

When the sun does come through,

It kills like a hand gun,

The sun shines too bright,

It is no longer a delight,

Wars no longer matter,

The bond we had with our earth shattered,

We are fighting for our life,

Living in fear of strife,

The want to move us all to mars,

But there aren’t enough cars,

Now I feel the ground shaking,

Shaking and swaying,

People go flying,

But not in a good way,

Buildings fall and people die,

It’s an earthquake you can’t deny,

All that the news say is that,

“it’s such a tragedy”

It’s getting worse rapidly,

We need to stop this monstrosity,

It’s getting out of hand,

And taking lives,

So lets join together,

The more the merrier.