Lancaster schoolgirl takes bee-saving campaign to Parliament
An eight-year-old has taken her campaign to save Britain’s bees all the way to Parliament after creating a petition at school.
Elouisa Carrington, who lives in Skerton, made the petition at Skerton St Luke’s Primary School, which has attracted around 40 signatures from her friends and teachers.
Elouisa then met with Lancaster and Wyre MP Cat Smith MP to talk about why protecting bees matters so much, and handed over her petition for Ms Smith to take to Westminster.
Ms Smith has since presented Elouisa’s petition to Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, the Nature Minister, ensuring that the voices of local children who care passionately about protecting our wildlife are being heard at the heart of Government.
Ms Smith said: “I was absolutely delighted to meet Elouisa and hear about her campaign.
"It is fantastic to see someone so young taking action to protect our natural environment, and her petition shows that children in Skerton understand just how important bees are to our ecosystem and our future.
"I was very pleased to take her petition to Parliament and present it to the Nature Minister, who is making sure that Elouisa’s campaign gets the attention it deserves. Her voice really can make a difference.”
To help protect bees, the Government has strengthened guidance around emergency authorisations for pesticides last year and committed to completely preventing the use of banned neonicotinoids in England, while supporting farmers to reduce their reliance on chemical pesticides.
In April, the Government also announced the largest-ever investment in threatened species recovery, with £90m for projects including work benefiting the rare Hawksbeard Bee, which was rediscovered in Hastings, East Sussex, after more than 100 years and is being supported through the creation of wildflower areas.
This work comes as part of the Government's 30by30 commitment to protect 30 per cent of land for nature in England by 2030, to restore nature and tackle the climate emergency.
Ms Smith added: “Elouisa should be incredibly proud of what she has achieved, and I hope her campaign inspires even more young people in Lancaster and Wyre to stand up for the wildlife on their doorstep.”