Inner city Bristol children tackle climate change with podcast

Children from inner city Bristol have been making their own climate change podcast, giving an insight into how they think, feel, see and dream.

The Freedom Kids Podcast is a show made by children aged five to 13 years old, who play at Felix Road Adventure Playground in Easton.

Produced by Eastside Community Trust, each episode explores a different topic including air quality and food.

Abdi, aged 10, said the podcast allowed him to express his feelings.

In one five-minute episode, children spoke of their concerns about burning fossil fuels, the effects of people throwing plastic in the sea and why some of them were vegetarian.

The podcast, which has just finished recording its second series, focussing on climate change, was created by experience play-worker and artist Araceli Cabrera Caceres.

Part of Eastside Community Trust's Community Climate Action project, it is funded by the National Lottery's Climate Action Fund.

The lottery fund is a 10-year £100m pot of money to support communities across the UK to take action on climate change.

Manager of Felix Road Adventure Playground said: "We've been going for about two years I think. Each episode gets between 100 and 150 listeners.

"They will go on to talk about all the things that you know matter to them. We think it's a great example of children's voice and influence," he added.

One of the podcasters, Iris, aged 10, said the best thing about the podcast was that it allowed her to express her opinion on issues.

"I want to be an activist when I'm older and I want to show the world that we can make a change."

The community trust has just secured funding for a third series.

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