Pupils praised for highlighting links between food supply and deforestation

Pupils at Waunfawr Primary School in Crosskeys are a “shining example” to others through their work highlighting links between food production and deforestation.

They welcomed a Masterchef winner for a recent workshop, exploring how common ingredients such as beef, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, and soy could be connected to the destruction of tropical rainforests.

Working alongside environmental charity Size of Wales, the Year 6 pupils took part in a six-week programme exploring sustainable ingredients and how everyday food choices can contribute to deforestation. They later decided to create an instant noodle dish, inspired by their love of Pot Noodles, using tofu and vegetables instead of ingredients linked to rainforest destruction.

Caerphilly County Borough Council officers and councillors joined the Year 6 pupils as they learned how school meals could be more ethical while remaining affordable and nutritious.

On Tuesday June 30, councillors voted unanimously to make the local authority a ‘Deforestation Free Champion’, becoming the second council in Wales to do so.

In a presentation to the council, three Waunfawr Primary pupils – Margot East, Bella Pearce and Evan Godwin – said they had tackled a question “most people never think to ask – how are the choices we make here in Wales connected to the future of tropical rainforests thousands of miles away?”

“We discovered that ingredients found in everyday food products, including some served in schools and public buildings, can be linked to deforestation in some of the world’s most important forests,” the pupils said.

“Deforestation is not an impossible problem – it is a challenge that can be tackled through better choices, better policies, better leadership and better collaboration.”

Led by environmental charity Size of Wales, the project invited Masterchef’s 2008 winner James Nathan to help develop recipes for meals that avoid ingredients with links to deforestation. The pupils later showcased their recipe alongside him at the Caerphilly Food Festival and have since taught younger children at the school how to make it.

The recipe is also set to be introduced to school menus across the borough as part of the three-week school meals cycle.

In taking on the new ‘champion’ status, Caerphilly Council will sign a new charter “formalising the council’s commitment to taking proportionate and practical steps to reduce its contribution to consumption-driven deforestation”, explained Cllr Carol Andrews, the cabinet member for education.

Melissa Armishaw, headteacher at Waunfawr Primary, said she had also been surprised by the extent to which unsustainable food production contributes to rainforest destruction.

“I knew that ingredients such as palm oil and soy were harmful to the environment, but when Size of Wales came in and explained what was damaging our rainforests, I was shocked.

“All of the children have been truly excellent, and after an initial hurdle, they have gone above and beyond to get the message across.”

Cllr Jamie Pritchard, who leads the local authority, congratulated Waunfawr Primary on their “great” work in the project, and said the pupils involved were “a shining example of the young people we’ve got in Caerphilly County Borough”.

The recent recipe workshop had prompted opposition leader Cllr Charlotte Bishop to recreate the meals at home and “purge” her kitchen of problematic ingredients, she said.

She told pupils their work had already had “a massive impact”, adding: “I’m sure you’ve all got a very bright future impacting the environment in Wales and the world.”

Cllr Sean Morgan, who represents the Green Party, said: “The argument constantly for deforestation is that it allows companies to deliver food to our tables in a much cheaper manner.

“It’s very clear when you see the cost of food on our tables it is not to make our food any cheaper… it’s for their profits they are destroying the planet.”

He told the pupils their project “shows there is hope”.

Newport West and Islwyn’s Labour MP Ruth Jones said: “This is a huge win for sustainability and I’m thrilled Caerphilly County Borough Council has backed this initiative led by pupils.

“Head teacher Mrs Armishaw is incredibly active in the community, and this is just the latest project which has engaged the next generation in protecting the future of our planet. I can’t wait to see what they do next.”