Young people from across the county are ready to compete for the winning place at this year’s Young Green Briton Challenge (YGBC).  
 

34 year seven students from three Northumberland schools came together to present their local climate action ideas in the first ever Regional Dragon’s Den style pitching event hosted by Northumberland County Council. 
 

Innovative ideas ranging from addressing fast fashion and biodiversity loss to renewable energy generation and combating energy wastage were pitched by students from Hexham Middle, Corbridge Middle, and St Joseph's Middle School to a panel of judges in the Cabinet Chamber at Morpeth County Hall.
 

Sitting on the panel were Deputy Leader of the Council, Richard Wearmouth, Neil Dorward from the Council’s education team, Craig Burnside from Aveas, a sponsor of YGBC and Elfi Bretterklieber-Taye of Egger, a local company providing mentorship for YGBC. 
 

Amidst stiff competition and rigorous deliberations, three standout teams were chosen to advance to the next stage of the competition. These include: 

• The Fashion Frogs from Corbridge Middle School, a uniform recycling project to mitigate wastage and reduce the financial burden of purchasing new school attire. 
• The Fast Fashionistas from St Joseph’s Middle School, a prototype clothes recycling bin called Munch (Making Unused Neglected Clothes Helpful) to promote reuse and sustainability in fashion. 
• Let the Flowers ‘Bee’gin from Hexham Middle School, a competition to boost biodiversity, particularly focusing on bees, by distributing bee-friendly flower seeds to schools and partnering with garden centers. 

These teams have been selected to attend the National Award Finals in London where they will be competing nationally to win up to £1,000 to grow their project. 
 

Councillor Richard Wearmouth said: “I am honoured to be part of this fantastic event and have been truly inspired by our young people here in Northumberland.  
 

“This initiative not only fosters environmental stewardship of our future generations but also enriches their confidence, presentation skills, research acumen, and creativity. 
 

“I’m excited to see these teams – winners or not – progress and grow their ideas into projects which will really make a difference. All the pupils involved in the challenge should be incredibly proud of what they have achieved.” 
 

Each participating team has undergone extensive preparation, including lessons and design workshops earlier in the year, to explore local environmental issues and devise innovative solutions.  
 

Supported by seed funding from Northumberland County Council and mentorship from teachers and volunteers, including local firms like Egger, these young eco-entrepreneurs are poised to make a lasting impact. 
 

Dr Meryl Batchelder, Science Teacher at Corbridge Middleschool and event organiser said: “Education in schools can help create agents of change to help us move towards a sustainable future.  
 

“The Young Green Briton Challenge is an initiative which promotes climate education and school-based action through building skills and celebrating youth-led ideas whilst helping to improve the school and wider community.  
 

“By hosting the first ever regional final of the Challenge Northumberland County Council is leading the way in supporting children to have incredible learning opportunities and help them to develop entrepreneurial skills in sustainability.” 
 

The event showcased other commendable initiatives, such as Make Wool Cool, The Oompaloompas, The Climate Clan, The Pipe Spinners, The MPGs, and Versa Fashion, each tackling pressing environmental challenges with ingenuity and determination. 
 

Schools across Northumberland are encouraged to join the Northumberland Schools Sustainability Network (NSSN) to learn more about how they can act on climate change. Join the network via this link https://nland.cc/NSSN