One of the judges of a schools environmental awards scheme says the initiative can help inspire more young people to take an active role in addressing the planet’s ecological challenges.

The Green School Awards are open to schools across the south-east. They aim to celebrate school-led projects in areas such as green travel, energy and nature conservation, air quality, recycling and health and wellbeing.

Schools have until December 1 to submit nominations, which will be assessed by organisations including environmental charity Ethical Earth Company.

Ethical Earth Company founder James Ford said: “We’re really happy to be sponsoring the Green School Awards.”

He added that the awards nominees’ work was “a brilliant start to being more environmentally friendly”.

Karen Brinkman, acting general manager of awards organiser the KM Charity Team, echoed Mr Ford’s comments, saying: “The whole point of the Green School Awards is about inspiring young people to take action to improve their communities and the planet as a whole.

“We want to celebrate school-led projects that prove that all children can get active in protecting and enhancing the environment.

“Projects don’t have to be mould-breaking or on an epic scale to be nominated, as it is often the most simple ideas that are most effective at inspiring others to act too.

“Nominated schemes might include anything from school gardens to recycling schemes, walking buses or air-quality projects.”

Ethical Earth Company aims to promote community projects that create a better planet for everyone.

Mr Ford explained: “Ethical Earth Company was set up to provide projects to improve the environment and try to reverse the damage that previous generations have inflicted on the earth.”

The charity’s Pollen Nation scheme aims to support the decreasing bee population through specialised floral safe zones and protective hives.

Apart from the Ethical Earth Company, the awards’ supporters are East Kent Recycling, Golding Vision, Loop CR, NCS Technology, SGS Energy, Medway Council, Streetspace and Ashford International Hotel, where the awards ceremony will take place in February.

Find out more about the awards at Greenschoolawards.co.uk, and watch a video in which Mr Ford talks about the awards here: