THREE pupils from a small Cornish primary school were among more than 1,000 young eco champions from across the county to take part in a major environmental initiative – and they are already making their voices heard at the highest levels.

Imogen, Sam and Amelia, from Sir Robert Geffery’s Primary School in Landrake, represented their school’s Eco Committee in county-wide online discussions with other children passionate about protecting the planet.

The trio took part in a Speak Up training day led by Truro Diocese as part of its Creation Care programme, equipping pupils with the skills to turn environmental concern into action. The children debated the issues that matter most to young people in the county and learned how to communicate effectively with decision-makers, including councillors, MPs and church leaders.

Indeed, they have wasted no time putting that training into practice. The Landrake pupils have already written to Bishop David of Truro, urging him to support efforts to reduce deforestation and increase tree planting.

Amelia said: “It’s important to protect the environment, especially because of climate change right now.”

Sam added: “We felt that stopping littering and showing the importance of recycling by everyone was important.”

Imogen, in Year 6, said the experience had been empowering. “We liked working with children from other schools – knowing their problems and helping each other by sharing eco ideas felt very good. We decided to write a letter to Bishop David asking for his help to stop deforestation since trees are vital to our survival.”

Their involvement, which has been praised by headteacher Ed O’Hara, forms part of a much wider movement across Cornwall’s church schools. More than 1,000 children have taken part in Eco Schools activities over the past year, with impressive results revealed in a newly published impact report.

In the last year, 1,700 pupils attended a Green Flag-awarded Eco School. Of those, 219 took part in organised litter picks, helping to tackle waste in their local communities.

Pupils planted 514 trees and 131 children grew their own produce, strengthening connections between young people and the land. Across participating schools, 356 natural habitats were created or maintained, boosting biodiversity in school grounds and surrounding areas.

Environmental gains extended beyond planting and wildlife. Around 220 kilograms of waste was diverted from landfill, while 36 energy-saving devices were installed or maintained.

The initiative also saw 163 external collaborators working alongside schools, and 221 young people leading projects based on the “5Rs” – Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose and Recycle.

Clare Green, Schools’ Creation Care Officer at Truro Diocese, praised the scale of engagement.

“It’s great to see just how many of our children are passionate about Creation Care, well done to all those schools who have been participating in eco projects,” she said.

“It’s even more incredible to think that these figures only include the schools that achieved their green flag in 2025, many more of our schools are working hard on similar projects either through the Eco Schools programme or in other ways.

“What an impact our young people are having.”