Earth Day Heroes

We’re calling on young people with a passion for the planet to enter our exciting competition to raise awareness and take action on environmental issues.

Earth Day Heroes

We’re calling on young people with a passion for the planet to enter our exciting competition to raise awareness and take action on environmental issues.

What is Earth Day Heroes?

As part of Earth Day celebrations around the world, we invite young people to become an Earth Hero and create a local project to raise awareness and take action on environmental issues that matter to them. Using creativity, problem solving, and learning from other young people, we encourage young people to respond positively to the problems they see in the world around them, developing global citizens and improving health, wellbeing and the climate.

How can you be involved?

Download your free action pack

The pack will help you support your young people to identify a way or ways that they can take action to make a difference – in their school, their neighbourhood or in their wider area.

Enter your Earth Day project

Entries to the 2025 competition are now closed.

Entries for the 2026 competition will open in October – watch this space!

Celebrating our Earth Day Heroes 2025!

120 young eco-heroes received their awards at the Awards ceremony at Sparks Bristol on 30th September.
As well as sharing their winning ideas and projects, the young people were inspired by a talk from BBC’s Naomi Wilkinson* who shared how she had overcome her fear of sharks and spiders by getting up close and personal to them, and learning about how awesome wildlife and nature is. The winning schools also took part in an Aardman Animations clay modelling workshop, as well as receiving trophies, certificates and books for their school.

Projects were awarded prizes at Acorn level (good ideas, potential to grow), Sapling (good progress and showing great promise) to Mighty Oak for fully developed projects bearing fruit.
The 5 Mighty Oak projects were:
Fairfield School’s Park & Stride Scheme encourages families to drive their children to drop off points with students finishing their journey to school on foot together, reducing congestion and carbon emissions.
Brunel Fields Primary Zero Carbon School project is helping their school reduce their energy use, grow food and hold regular litter picks.
May Park Primary School’s Speaking Truth to Power project, presenting positive climate action solutions to business leaders and on the radio.
Victoria Park Primary’s Project Power, monitoring and reducing energy use across the school, saving carbon and saving money.
Dhamrai government college in Bangladesh for their tree planting and anti-plastic campaigning and activation, in college and the local community.

Other awards were given to Warmley Park School, Black 2 Nature, Somerdale Educate Together, Whitehall Primary, and Evergreen Primary. Young people have petitioned their teachers and carers, created vegetable gardens, recorded a rap, created artworks, monitored energy use and shared their passion with their local community to drive even more change for good. As the year 5 pupils at Brunel Fields Primary told us, “We really believe that, even though we’re kids, we can make a huge difference when it comes to climate change and making our world a better place”.

Thanks to funding from the Youth Climate Action Fund, groups could apply for micro grants to fund their projects, providing materials and mentoring to help make their ideas a reality.

The new Better Uniforms Campaign was also launched at the Awards event, with the aim of Bristol being the first city to have ethical, affordable and plastic-free uniforms.

To register your interest in Earth Day Heroes 2026, please email : workshops@sparksbristol.co.uk

FAQs

➤ How much time will it take to complete?

The action might be a one-off event such as tree planting, or making a poster, or writing campaign material which can be completed in one or two lessons/sessions. Or young people may wish to undertake a much longer project that suits their group or class. We hope you and your young people will enjoy taking part.

➤ How do we enter?

Deadline for applications this year are now closed. The deadline for 2026 applications is 31st May 2026

All details are in the Earth Day Heroes Action Pack, so download it today!

➤ Are there prizes?

YES! All projects that are entered will be recognised at an Awards Ceremony at Sparks Bristol on 30th September 2025 10am-12pm. At the ceremony, all projects will receive a bronze, silver or gold award, and the winners will receive a trophy for their group.

Awards will be given for inspirational projects in each age category on the following themes: 

  • Water
  • Transport
  • Biodiversity
  • Energy
  • Recycling and waste
  • Food, sponsored by Bristol Fairtrade

There will also be a Judge’s special recommendation for a project they recognise as being of huge value in your area, no matter how small!

The project will be promoted through the media – inspiring others in the city and beyond.

➤ Need more support?

One of our educators will be happy to help you start your project, just email workshops@sparksbristol.co.uk.

Earth Day Heroes is a joint project between Global Goals Centre, Green Schools Project, Bristol Education Partnership and Black 2 Nature.

Our Projects

Learn about the journey of your clothes with THREADS interactive game.

Threads Game

Our interactive game takes you on a journey that reveals the impact of fast fashion on people and planet.

Graphic showing people holding up signs, each showing one of the 17 Global Sustainable Development Goals.

The Bristol 17 Campaign

Bristol heroes tell their stories of how they are working towards the Goals and challenge us all to play our part.

GGC- Voices - Artist Group Photo

Voices: Art is Refuge

Celebrating the work and creative resilience of Bristol-based artists from the refugee and migrant community.

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