Youth Forum member scoops Young Green Champion of the Year award

We are incredibly proud to share the news that Rebekah – one of our brilliant Youth Forum members – has recently been awarded the Young Green Champion of the Year award at the South Yorkshire Sustainability Awards!

Rebekah’s passion for sustainability and all things green is something she brings to Sheffield Children’s in bucketloads. You might have heard Rebekah on BBC Radio Sheffield’s Grow Show with Kat Cowan where she talked about how important it is for organisations like ours to develop outdoor spaces for the wellbeing of staff and patients, and why we need to set a good example when it comes to sustainability. Earlier this year we also interviewed Rebekah about our Green Plan as part of the our Estates strategy where she talked more about the ways the Youth forum have positively impacted sustainability across Sheffield Children’s. This has included removing single use plastics in our catering spaces and getting stuck in (to actual mud!) to help improve the garden spaces within the hospital’s patient and family areas. 

Rebekah said: “I was thrilled to be awarded the Young Green Champion of the Year award in recognition of my commitment to all things green. I have completed a number of projects to support eco initiatives in school and beyond over the past few years. As an Eco-Rep I have been an active member of the Eco-Committee at school, attending meetings, planning and delivering events. I helped to support and run the ‘clothing swap’ last year, where we promoted the opportunity and benefits of recycling, re-using and sharing clothing rather than buying into ‘fast fashion’.

Amazingly, this isn’t the only award Rebekah has received this year. She was also awarded the Salters’ Institute Changemakers Award 2023 after looking at the role that chemistry can play in sustainable design – looking in particular at processes to break down plastic waste and create new energy sources.

Rebekah said: “I have also spent many hours volunteering for projects as part of my Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards, including #PenguinWatch – a virtual project to help researchers understand whether fishing, climate or direct human disturbance is causing changes to vulnerable penguin populations in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.”

We are so pleased at this much deserved news and we are very proud that Rebekah continues to be part of our Youth Forum.