Groups of children from Pendle Education Trust’s five schools pitched their sustainability ideas to a panel of judges at Nelson and Colne College, in a bid to secure funding to implement their ideas.

The panel, made up of Pendle Education Trust’s Chief Executive, Anita Ghidotti, Joseph Ferguson from Silentnight, Jon Horsfield from Nelson and Colne College and Sue Young from Taylor Shaw, heard from children from the Trust’s primary and secondary schools about how they believe they can make their schools greener.

Ideas included creating a sustainable planting area with bird feeders at Castercliff Primary Academy, developing a Solar Powered Irrigation System at Casterton Primary Academy, promoting eco-friendly ways of travelling to school at Pendle Primary Academy, purchasing high-vis vests, gloves and litter pickers to restore Gib Hill in Colne, creating a living walkway at Colne Primet Academy and refurbishing the outdoor space in West Craven High School’s quad.

The panel of judges were so impressed with the ideas from all of the groups that they awarded each school with £200 to kickstart their plans. The money was donated by Barnoldswick bed manufacturers, Silentnight and Pendle Education Trust’s catering provider, Taylor Shaw.

The day ended with the judges, children and school staff helping to plant some of 1,500 trees which had been donated by Lancashire County Council as part of a project to create a micro-wood next to Nelson and Colne College’s 3G pitches.

Anita Ghidotti said: “It was fantastic hearing so much passion from our children for these sustainability projects. We all know that we need to do more to be greener and the best people to champion this are our young people. We can’t wait to see their ideas come to life and our schools become greener.

“I’d like to say a huge thank you to our judges and staff at Nelson and Colne College for the time they spent with our children and for giving them ideas to develop their green plans further.”