School children turn anger into art to call for lower bills and cleaner rivers
School children turn anger into art to call for lower bills and cleaner rivers
Eleven pupils at Old Oak Primary School in West London have presented local politicians with collages, representing their anger with dirty water polluting our rivers and seas and rising water bills
In a special assembly, in front of more than 100 of their peers, the students used their art to ask Hammersmith and Fulham Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency and Travel, Nicole Trehy, and the ward councillor, Wesley Harcourt, for their help to tackle Thames Water and make London’s water system fairer for their families and the environment.
The Old Oak Climate Champions are a group of students aged from 7 to 11 who want to make the environment better for people and nature. They have listened to families at their school who are struggling with their water bills. Most of the parents the pupils surveyed said their water bills are too high.
It’s not fair. We don’t get to choose who provides our water. Rivers are polluted and it’s affecting fish and wildlife because of the dirty water. Thames Water has made £24 billion over the last 40 years, the big bosses are happy but we are not.
Robbie from the Climate Champions
The Climate Champions are part of London Citizens who have been campaigning to end private profiteering at Thames Water which has left Londoners with polluted rivers, soaring bills and poor infrastructure. The Climate Champions handed over a giant cheque for £24.04 billion to the London Citizens team, representing the money paid by taxpayers into a system rewarding shareholders.
We have listened to members of our community and have heard about frustration and hardship, with some families reporting their bills have risen by up to £200, leaving several people struggling to pay. That’s on top of leaks and outages lasting for days, forcing residents to travel miles to find bottled water. This is not just poor management; it is a broken system that prioritises private profit over public good.
Sean, St Martin's in the Field, Westminster