This year’s Bloxham Young Enterprise business was called The Climate Crew. Managing Director, Lottie L. looks back on their successes:
The idea behind The Climate Crew was established on 7 individuals passion for the environment and the ambition to help spread awareness of the growing issues occurring worldwide. From its inception, we all agreed that Climate Change was quite literally a ‘hot topic’ and we wanted to do our bit to spread awareness and educate the younger generation.
Together we’wrote’a short’children’s‘book,’Tuckers Travels,‘aimed at’six to’nine’year‘olds,‘complete’with’fun games‘and beautiful’illustrations.’Our’book followed Tucker’the Turtle on his travels around the world where he encountered many environment‘issues‘such as plastic in the ocean’and‘drought. The book also addressed how we‘could alter our behaviour’at home’to‘reduce these effects‘with simple changes like‘using a reusable water bottle‘instead.”At‘the heart of the book‘was to educate‘and inspire’young children to be proactive, sparking an’interest in the topic. We’received lots of’positive feedback’from customers and‘were extremely pleased’to hear that‘Tucker‘s positive environmental practices’were being‘implemented in real life.’It has been very rewarding seeing so many members of the Bloxham community get behind our initiative and we wish for The‘Climate‘Crew to’keep’growing from here on out.‘‘
It was necessary to’created’multiple platforms‘to’ensure our‘business accessible to everyone.’The’website theclimatecrewuk.com was a highlight for us‘as‘we overcame‘many obstacles before’achieving’a’polished interface.’We were‘stunned by the engagement our social media pages received and this’motivated us’to keep’up’the hard work.‘As well as actively selling our book using Etsy,‘we reached out‘to the following ‘green’ companies, who chose to stock‘our book on their websites‘The Green Shop and’The Wild Tree.‘It was also available for purchase in Nothing but Footprints,’a‘local‘and’environmentally’conscious’shop in Banbury.‘
We relished the opportunity to learn skills we wouldn’t have learnt in a classroom by running a functional business from start to finish. Each team member assumed departmental managerial responsibility ranging from marketing director to operations director. It has taught us invaluable teamworking skills as well as problem solving skills. We learnt to not back down in the face of hardship but instead have the confidence to push through. We are grateful for every setback we encountered as it made our product the success it is today.‘
An email from’Dame Emma Thompson, expressing‘her admiration for our enterprise‘was fantastic, her backing’also boosted‘our’creditability.’This was huge news for’us,‘and we are still shocked to this’day.‘We are grateful to‘MPs,‘Andrea’Leadsom‘who was kind‘enough to send a video message of her’support‘and’Victoria’Prentis who came to Bloxham to discuss our book and views of the environment. As a result,‘we were featured in both the’Oxford’Mail and the Banbury Guardian. Other’highlights included‘being invited to sell’at’a‘Thames’Con event‘in Oxford which presented the opportunity to sell to‘over‘5000 people!‘Unfortunately,‘this event was cancelled due to the lockdown restrictions but despite this we were still grateful’for the‘recognition.‘
Perhaps some of the most’exciting‘news for’The‘Climate‘Crew this year was’the opportunity‘to be on BBC News South‘where we discussed our book, mission and values. This’was a stand-out achievement for our team and something we look back on with great pride.’‘
We loved going to trade fairs to set up our‘stall,’engage with the‘public and to raise awareness‘surrounding‘the climate issue.’The Climate Crew‘won multiple’Young Enterprise awards including”Best Product’,’‘Best Customer Service’ and ‘Best Trade Stand’. We had an excellent run in the competition‘and made it to’the’regional finals where we competed against over 120 different schools‘and’were awarded’the ‘judges prize’for best PR‘.‘
Overall,’we’are‘all‘very’grateful for the’many’experiences and’opportunities which came with this year’s Young Enterprise‘and’I’know‘personally, that‘I will look back on’this time fondly’in years to come. Knowing people have responded’and listened is the most rewarding aspect and‘has made all the hard work’worthwhile. We hope’Tucker‘s legacy and message still lives on for years to come and people think twice before leaving a light on.‘
We are thankful to our business advisor Beth Baker,‘who’kindly‘gave up her time to share her expert business knowledge‘and insight.‘Our‘gratitude‘is also extended to‘Nick Jones’who’generously‘supported‘us in‘the cost of printing’of’the book,‘in return for advertising space.‘Finally, we would like to express our’deepest’appreciation‘for‘Mr Hussain who‘has‘been our number one supporter’from the beginning‘and has shared his invaluable skills with the team throughout this‘process.‘
‘Lottie L.‘- Lower Sixth
‘Managing Director’‘ The Climate Crew‘