Age guideline 7-11, 11-13
About the event
Join the team behind award-winning Letters to the Earth, as they invite children and young people to write their own letters in response to the climate and ecological emergency. With readings from youth activists and an inspiring mini-workshop from poet and Letters contributor Rakaya Fetuga, this session will empower children and young people, as they explore the feelings they personally have in connection to the planet. From there, they’ll be asked to consider what they want to say, and who to; and be encouraged to appreciate the power of their voice and how it can be used for change. They will also be given advice on how to structure a letter and write persuasively to ensure that their voice is heard.
How to access the event
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Teacher resources
You can download templates to create your letter here:
http://www.bradfordlitfest.co.uk/write-letter-earth/
You can see some examples of children’s Letters to the Earth here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1mQJTvMwr4c3zxPgZOi6-P7MKcwii4iSK
The Letters to the Earth website has lots of info about the campaign and ideas to help you write your letter. Have a look here: https://www.letterstotheearth.com/ and here: https://www.letterstotheearth.com/callouts
The Reader Teacher’s Top Tip
Thanks to Scott Evans, The Reader Teacher, for this top teacher tip:
‘This event is fantastic to use when teaching geography, science and English in the curriculum and about the environment and climate change to learn how to structure a letter and write persuasively to ensure that children’s voices are heard.’ @MrEPrimary
About the authors
Letters to the Earth: In February 2019 the British public were invited to put pen to paper and write a Letter to the Earth in response to the climate and ecological emergency. The invitation was open to interpretation and open to all. Letters of love, loss, hope and action were written by over 1000 people from all over the world - from 4 year olds to great grandparents, artists, scientists, nurses. A new story emerged.
The campaign is still running, now worldwide. Keep writing your letters. Read them with others. Take them to your communities, to the streets. www.letterstotheearth.com
Rakaya Fetuga is a writer, poet and workshop facilitator from London. Her poems have been featured in Letters to the Earth (HarperCollins, 2019) and SLAM: You're Gonna Wanna Hear This! (Pan Macmillan, 2020). Rakaya holds an English and Creative Writing BA and Fiction Writing MA from Royal Holloway, University of London. Rakaya won the Roundhouse Poetry Slam in 2018 and, as a Resident Artist, went on to write and produce a monodrama entitled Unbraided. She is currently working on her first novel.
About the festival partner
This event has been programmed by Bradford Literature Festival.
Hailed as one of the most inspirational and inclusive festivals in the UK, Bradford Literature Festival (BLF) is ten-day celebration of the written and spoken word which takes place annually in the city of Bradford. With more than 500 events across a diverse and wide-ranging programme, the festival now reaches upwards of 70,000 people each year.
BLF is rooted in its social purpose, to deliver tangible social change through cultural experiences. Audiences at Bradford Literature Festival are more culturally, ethnically, and socio-economically diverse than at any other UK literature festival. In 2019, the festival was one of the most diverse events in the UK, with 52% BAME audiences and 42% BAME speakers. The festival’s Ethical Pricing Policy, which keeps ticket prices as low as £7, and offers free tickets to those who cannot otherwise afford to attend, helps to ensure that audiences of all backgrounds view the event as one that includes them.
In response to the Coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 Bradford Literature Festival moved online, with a programme of more than 50 digital events which remain available to view on demand via the festival website. Speakers include poet Lemn Sissay, actor Christopher Eccleston, American politician Ilhan Omar, rapper Lowkey and many more.
The festival is supported by Key Partners, Arts Council England, Bradford Metropolitan District Council and the University of Bradford, with funding from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, the Pears Foundation, Bradford Opportunity Area, the NHS, The Linbury Trust and The Emerald Foundation, and support from Legal Partner LCF Law.