BASINGSTOKE & DEANE BC - Sustainability Competition
Published: 20 July 2022
Competition urges young to think of a sustainable future
A competition is inviting young writers and artists to create a vision of what life could be like in the future in a green and sustainable borough.
Launched by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council to mark Net Zero Week, the Letter from the Future competition asks young people to imagine it is 2030 and to write a letter or create a piece of artwork for their past selves about how the borough has changed over the past eight years to become more sustainable and reduce its carbon emissions.
The aim is to get young people to think about how Basingstoke and Deane could become a net zero carbon borough by 2030, following the council setting this ambitious target as part of its climate emergency declaration in September 2019.
Four winners will be chosen from each category, with the winners and their school or college each receiving books about climate change, sustainability and nature.
The Mayor Cllr Paul Miller said: "From increasingly heavy rainfall to potential food shortages, climate change will have a huge impact on us all if it is left unchecked. This is especially true for the young in our borough, who will live with the impacts of the choices we are making right now for decades to come."
"That is why we are asking our inspiring young writers and artists to think about how the place they would like to grow up in could be more sustainable. This will give us food for thought to urge us all to play our part in helping to address the climate emergency and preserve the wonderful borough for future generations."
The competition is open to three age groups: primary - for those 11 and under, secondary for 11 to 16 year olds and college and sixth form for the 16 to 18 year olds. Entries will be judged by the Mayor Cllr Paul Miller and local bestselling author and environment journalist Lucy Jones.
The judges are looking for original, creative work that expresses how young people feel about climate change and how they think the borough and the people that live here could be more sustainable in the future. This could include thinking about how the local natural environment and weather might be different as well as how people will get around, what they will eat and where our energy will come from.
Letters and artwork must be submitted by Monday 3 October 2022. Letters should be no longer than 300 words.
The winners will be presented with their prizes during a presentation ceremony hosted by the Mayor later this year in November.
Full details of the competition and how to enter are at www.basingstoke.gov.uk/letter-from-the-future.