P7s Challenge MSP With Climate Questions
Q and A with Mark Russell MSP
As part of The Moment on October 29th 2021, the P7 class at Doune Primary invited Mark Ruskell, an MSP for the Scottish Green Party. He represents Mid-Scotland and Fife, and stays local to Doune so knows the area well. The P7s hosted a question and answer session for Mark, and covered a variety of their concerns on the climate crisis.
A few highlights include:
“Do you think if we don’t stop the planet from warming, a big bang will happen like with the dinosaurs and we will disappear?” -P7, Doune
“Our advantage over the dinosaurs is that we understand the mistakes we’ve made and have the opportunity to do something about it.” – Mark Ruskell
“How can we make sure people with disabilities are safe with new electric cars on the streets that don’t make noise?” – P7, Doune
Mark suggested that we make sure that everyone in society is included in decision making before introducing electric vehicles, with specific focus on communities of people who may be most affected by the changes.
“Can we have a national planting day to encourage everyone to plant trees?” – P7, Doune
Mark thought this was a fantastic suggestion, and was surprised there isn’t one already! We had a discussion on how we could make sure everyone got involved – and where good spots for tree-planting would be in Doune.
“Can we have an eco-box where everyone can post their suggestions on how to stop climate change?”– P7, Doune
Mark’s suggestion was for this to be put in the post box in Doune, so everyone could access it.
Moving forward, the P7s of Doune Primary school call upon adults to encourage and support children to plant trees, and walk, cycle or scoot safely to school. They want to be listened to, and encourage the adults to act upon their promises. They would like all elected representatives to take seriously children’s Calls to Action.
Doune Primary School Calls to Action
- Plant trees and support gardening groups in schools
- Stop ocean litter
- Don’t sit around waiting – tackle it now
- Donate to Team Seas or Team Trees
- Change the way we dispose of litter
- Enable more allotments to encourage people to grow their own and eat local
- Get resources to those who need it most
- Use advertising to persuade people to make swaps (rather than buying new)
- Develop renewable energy sources
- Encourage reuse and refill sites
