'We wanted to create a new green space at our school'

"We are all aware of the importance of climate change and felt it was vital for our school to be as eco friendly as possible.

"Our garden is a good example of young people taking action on climate change by working within their local environment.

In addition, we thought the garden would be a good way of integrating new Year 7 students into the school by giving them an opportunity of making a positive contribution to the college environment.

"So we pitched the idea at the London Pitch 4 Change event run by the charity Envision which enables school teams to put their project proposals to a panel of eco dragons – and we won £1,000 and secured a further £1,000 from our school.

"We then put together our own designs and organised working groups with help from Envision volunteers. It's a sustainable development – the watering system operates via a solar-powered pump and food waste from the kitchens can be turned into compost.

"Not only will the garden be developed year on year – leaving a lasting impression – we also all gained from doing this project – developing our leadership skills, learning to communicate within a team and improving our organisational abilities.

"The project also gives an example of work that we can use to show our dedication and enthusiasm for sustainable development and project management.

"But more importantly, our project has definitely made a difference to the kids in our school."

The Envision Schools & Colleges Programme supports 16-19 year olds to delveop their own social and environmental projects as an extra curricular active citizenship programme empowering young people to realise their capacity to make a difference.

Find out more at www.envision.org.uk