A poster designed by Sutton school pupil Amaasha Silva is to be used to promote energy conservation across the borough.

Amaasha, age 11, a Year 6 pupil at Stanley Park Junior School, was the overall winner of an art competition that saw entries from 264 pupils from across 10 Sutton borough schools.

The competition was organised by EcoLocal, a local charity, as part of a school energy project commissioned by Sutton Council in line with its One Planet Sutton aspiration to improve the quality of life of residents in a way that reduces our impact on the environment.

Last winter EcoLocal visited 10 borough schools to deliver assemblies and lessons about saving energy at school and at home. The schools were also advised on energy management to save energy and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and saved an average 7 per cent of energy through behaviour change alone.

The students took home an activity book that enabled them to carry out an energy audit of their home to see where they were wasting energy and record a week of energy-saving activities. The activity book also included a Home Energy Poster Competition.

A total of 264 borough pupils returned the activity book and entered the competition to design a poster to promote saving energy.

Amaasha Silva was the overall winner from across the 10 schools and has won an energy-saving kit for her home. She received her award from the Mayor of Sutton, Cllr Richard Clifton during a school assembly on Friday 15 July.

The Mayor said afterwards:

“I was delighted to present this award to Amaasha as her poster gets conveys the ecological message in a clear and direct manner. In Sutton we all have to play our part and do our bit in saving the planet. This poster will remind all borough residents and businesses of the part they have to play.”

Tansy Honey, of EcoLocal, said:

“It was great that so many Sutton students got involved in saving energy at home through this project. We hope Amaasha’s brilliant poster will help encourage more people to save money and cut carbon dioxide. Amassha’s poster was chosen as the winner because it is well designed and drawn, has the simple and clear message of ‘Save Our Planet’, and demonstrates that she had learned that saving energy will save money at home and help the planet by reducing the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere.”

Amaasha’s poster will be displayed across the borough in libraries and on noticeboards later this year.

One Planet Sutton is a vision for the borough where people lead happy, healthy lives with a fair share of the Earth’s resources. Sutton Council has committed to becoming a One Planet Borough by 2025. The council is working in partnership with a wide range of local voluntary and community groups to deliver this vision under the themes of cutting carbon emissions, cutting waste, valuing our natural environment, supporting healthy communities and supporting the local economy. Find out more about the One Planet Sutton initiative here.