Climate change is affecting everyone: nationally and internationally and in recent years, awareness of the key threats it poses has increased together with campaigning for change.

Although climate change is a global problem, it is most keenly experienced on a local level. World leaders, climate activists and scientists all agree that changing our everyday habits is an important first step towards tackling the climate crisis.

In partnership with Elmbridge Museum, Year 6 at Hinchley Wood Primary School have studied how climate change is affecting our local life. They have used items in Elmbridge Museum’s collection to learn about how extreme changes in weather, transport and green space in the past have impacted our local environment ‘then’ and ‘now’. The result is 83 fantastic posters, which answer the key question: “Why does climate change matter?”

All the posters, along with the original museum items used by the students and the discussion topics they considered, can be viewed in an online exhibition on the Museum website. Some of the posters and the students’ work are also on display at The Dittons Library.

Councillor Jan Turner, Portfolio Holder for Culture, Leisure and Environment, said, "Year 6 students at Hinchley Wood Primary School have produced excellent work on climate change, clearly demonstrating their views of the challenge on a local level. They suggest small changes that we can all make and are calling everyone to take action on larger scale. I strongly encourage everyone to view the exhibition online and visit The Dittons Library to see the students’ work. It is humbling, sobering and is a resounding call to everyone to act now."

View the exhibition online or at The Dittons Library until September 2022.