{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"","standfirst":"","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/15157/cub-scout-pttp.png","width":920,"height":518,"altText":"Thomas, a Cub Scout fighting climate change","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EAs Scouts, we\u2019re not afraid to take a stand. To step up. To speak out. To spark change.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEverybody knows that climate change is one of the most serious issues our planet has ever faced. That\u2019s why 57 million Scouts across the globe are making \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022/news/2021/november/promise-to-the-planet-results-100-million-hours-of-eco-action/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022Promise to the Planet results: 100 million hours of eco action\u0022\u003Epromises to the planet\u003C/a\u003E, united in the fight for our world.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOne of these amazing Scouts is Thomas Franklin, a 9-year-old Cub, environmentalist and naturalist, who\u2019s \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/a5897a7394af4e8cb0812cb200a50cc6\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Erecorded his actions\u003C/a\u003E against climate change to make his voice heard.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003ECleaning the oceans\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I was asked to help promote Clean Ocean Sailing\u2019s campaign \u2018Make a Splash\u2019.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis campaign encourages people to design a sail for their sailing boat called The Annette.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Annette sails around the coast of the UK reaching otherwise inaccessible beaches and clearing them of plastic pollution.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBy entering competitions, I am given new opportunities to raise awareness of the problem, my cause and my message. This enables me to reach out to more people and do more good.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlso, I learned that jumping into the sea fully clothed, even in the summer in the UK, is extremely cold!\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFarming organic food at home\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I want to eat a healthy diet and I also want the environment and animals and plants to be healthy too.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBy growing our own food, it couldn\u2019t be greener because there is no transport, pollution or packaging needed.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI feel really close to nature by doing it and it is really exciting harvesting what we have grown. What we are unable to produce ourselves, we get from local organic farmers.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI learned that it\u2019s not only healthy and good for the environment but also really fun and rewarding growing and producing our own food.\u2018\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/15155/cub-scout-pttp-3.jpg","width":709,"height":798,"altText":"Thomas, a Cub Scout farming organic food at home","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EReplacing single use plastic\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I want to use as little single-use plastic as possible because I know how much it can damage the environment, especially the oceans.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI learnt that microfibres can get into the oceans through washing machines and so we use a collecting ball. We all like wearing natural materials anyway.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere are lots of sustainable alternatives to single-use plastics. For example, I discovered that I can use edible pasta straws for my home-made fruit milkshakes!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf everyone made these easy changes then it would make a huge difference.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EDressing to impress (and influence)\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2019I wanted to use Gala Week in my local town to reach lots of people. So, I entered the fancy-dress competition to do something about plastic pollution in the sea.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI had just seen Blue Planet II and really wanted to make a difference. I designed and made my own costume, showing animals being harmed by plastic and my new slogan \u2018the sea is not a dustbin\u2019.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt was all made out of recycled materials. I won first prize and wore my costume round the town, giving out my own badges with my own logo on them. And asking for donations for the Devon Wildlife Trust.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI discovered that using events where lots of families come together to have fun and relax was brilliant.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELots of people had time to talk to me. Some of those people can be important leaders and I can influence them.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe mayor wanted to use the photograph of him with me in my costume at his meetings, because he was responsible for local \u2019green\u2019 issues.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHe went on to organise for me to have a special private tour of the Suez recycling centre in Cornwall.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/15154/cub-scout-pttp-4.jpg","width":787,"height":1109,"altText":"","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA big thank you to Thomas and to everyone else who\u2019s made a promise to the planet. The Earth gives us so much; it feels great to give back.\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIf you want to let us know how you\u2019re fighting climate change, please let us know by \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/a5897a7394af4e8cb0812cb200a50cc6\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Erecording your action\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"callToAction","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","buttonText":"Discover more about #PromiseToThePlanet","buttonLink":{"name":"Promise to the Planet","id":null,"url":"/","newWindow":false,"target":"_blank"},"colour":{"value":"490499","label":"490499"},"alignment":"left"}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"13 October 2021","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"Log your Promise to the Planet","url":"https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/a5897a7394af4e8cb0812cb200a50cc6","newWindow":true}],"relatedLinks":[{"caption":"","title":"Promise to the Planet","url":"#","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"A Million Hands","url":null,"newWindow":true}],"id":50386,"nodeName":"Meet the Cub Scout who knows how to fight climate change","title":"Meet the Cub Scout who knows how to fight climate change","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/15157/cub-scout-pttp.png?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd1a2cff70","caption":"Cub Scout PTTP","type":"png","size":784006,"width":920,"height":518,"altText":""},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Meet the Cub Scout who knows how to fight climate change","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Meet Thomas, a 9-year-old Cub, environmentalist and naturalist, who\u2019s recorded his actions against climate change to make his voice heard.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC81MDM4NiJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2021/october/meet-the-cub-scout-who-knows-how-to-fight-climate-change/"}