More than 160 students from across Wales had the opportunity meet experts and debate key environmental issues at two national sustainability conferences.
Organised by Eco-Schools Wales and Natural Resources Wales, the ‘Our Earth; Our Future’ conferences in Swansea and Bangor were part of a series of nine events hosted across England and Wales.
Students had the opportunity to quiz a panel of industry experts on ‘green careers’, learning how sustainability is embedded in a range of sectors, including construction, product design and farming. They also enjoyed a mix of workshop sessions and presentations which led to healthy debate about our transition to a circular economy.
Students from Basseleg School provided a clear message to the future workforce in their presentation, saying: 
“We must rethink our priorities for our generation, and generations to come.”
Gareth Banks, Head of Sustainability at furniture manufacturer Orangebox, joined the green careers panel in Swansea. Speaking after the conference he said:
“All credit to the Eco-Schools team, terrific events like this one have a really important part to play as it’s a big challenge to create strong links between education and the private sector. It was a real pleasure to help these young people see just how many opportunities there are to engage. Sustainable thinking is a big part of any role at Orangebox, and it was great to get this point across, you don’t need to have a degree to make a big contribution to a climate-positive future.”
The ‘Our Earth, Our Future’ 2024 conference series was funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation nationally, with support from climate education charity Let’s Go Zero Advisors. In Wales, the events were supported by Size of Wales, Swansea University, Bangor University and Natural Resources Wales. The idea was pioneered by influential educator Sir Tim Brighouse before his passing in December 2023.
Bryony Bromley, manager for Eco-Schools Wales at Keep Wales said:
“It was fantastic to bring together so many secondary school students at the Our Earth; Our Future conferences; I’ve been blown away by their passion, curiosity and determination to find innovate solutions to tackle our climate emergency.
“It shows how important it is to equip students with the knowledge to drive positive environmental change. After all, today’s young people are tomorrow’s policy makers, business owners and consumers – and with the exciting rise of green jobs, they have the potential to affect change in whichever industry they choose to enter.”
Eco-Schools is celebrating 30 years of leading environmental education across the world this year.
