Students from Northampton Academy were delighted to welcome runners from the ‘Running Out of Time Relay’ on Wednesday, June 19th, and witness the handing over of the relay baton, which contains an important message about the need to help people and places impacted by climate change.
Back in 2022, thousands of runners, cyclists, and sailors carried the baton from Scotland to Egypt, crossing seas, mountains, and deserts, visiting villages, towns, and capital cities along the way to deliver a climate message from young people to world leaders at COP27. The baton visited hundreds of schools, at-risk locations, and climate change projects to inspire and champion local climate action.
Now, the baton is back in the UK and has started its journey at Fort William in Scotland, currently making its way down the country towards Westminster, where the message will be delivered to Parliament. Along the route, the baton’s message will be read out by people of all backgrounds and ages as it makes its way down to London, carried by runners, cyclists, and other sportspeople.
As the runners, Roisin, Rohan, and Harry, arrived at Northampton Academy, the students lined the road and greeted them with cheers, flags, and placards they had made in support of the campaign before the handing over of the baton took place. The baton was passed to a representative from the local air pollution campaign charity, 1000 Voices, who then made her way through town towards Sixfields.
During the visit, the enthusiastic students respectfully asked some probing questions about the campaign and the experiences of those taking part. The runners then had the opportunity to ask the students questions about their thoughts on climate change and were very impressed with their answers.
Roisin said:
“We had a great reception from the kids cheering us on as we ran in. They had some really interesting questions for us.”
Rohan added:
“Of all the schools we’ve been to so far, this was the most engaged audience, they had some hard questions for us to answer, but good ones, because it means they are thinking about it and taking an interest. The reception was a lot of fun as we ran in and they followed us round the corner. That’s why we love coming to schools and feeling that energy!”
One Northampton Academy student, Niki, said:
“I think it’s really amazing they have come all the way down from Scotland to show everybody that we have to do something about climate change. It shows their dedication to accomplishing something for our world. The event helped us to think about the seriousness of climate change. We were engaged in listening to the participants who brought awareness in a fun and exciting way”.
Another student Humairah added:
“Everyone talks about importance of addressing global warming and climate change but today shows that people really are doing something about it.”
Owen Jones, Principal at Northampton Academy, said:
“It was fantastic to welcome the relay to our school and see such high-quality engagement from our students who asked the runners a range of thoughtful questions. It was an excellent occasion for our young people to be a part of and encouraged them to think about the impact of climate change on the planet and what, collectively, we can do to protect the people and places around us. We wish all future relay runners the best of luck on their ongoing journey.”
The 1000 Voices charity is holding a ‘Clean Up Northampton’ hustings at the Guildhall on June 27th at 7.00pm. Further information can be found at www.umbrellafair.org/1000voices.
Watch the video of the event using this link: https://youtu.be/VAz3ne1Mg6A