Hello, my name is Nico! I am fourteen years old, a scholar at Winchester College, and I live in Cambridge, UK.

As wildfires, heatwaves and floods worsen, I am desperately concerned about the terrible impacts of climate change on our local fenlands and our natural systems worldwide, and on the most vulnerable people - especially children.

Together with my friend Wezi from Zambia, I recently wrote a response to the Call on General Comment 26 for the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child about children's rights and the environment. We focused on children's rights, fighting climate change and protecting nature.

We studied the science and politics, becoming very, very worried. Our future, our very survival, is at stake. Children and nature, who are voiceless and vulnerable, are already suffering. We need all the help we can get, to stop this global nightmare.

Rather than staying sad and angry, though, this summer I am going to kayak from Cambridge where I live to the sea, to raise funds for local and global charities who are trying to protect children's rights and nature from the impacts of climate change. Please sponsor me?

All funds raised will go directly to the Voices for Future Generations Children's Initiative (vofg.org) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (iucn.org), and to local charities Wicken Fen (nationaltrust.org.uk) and the Cambridge Botanic Gardens (botanic.cam.ac.uk) who are working to protect our fenlands and promote education about sustainability solutions.

I love our natural world. I believe it is important to protect and restore habitat for endangered species (including my two Hermann's Tortoises), and to advance the global Sustainable Development Goals, especially by empowering youth and children.

As a volunteer UN Child Ambassador and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Children's Rights, I have been trying for years to help promote sustainability education and the rights of future generations. I edit a blog (nicosnaturalworld.org) with hundreds of followers. I also volunteer as co-chair of the Global Youth Council on Science, Law and Sustainability which was founded by young people during the Glasgow Climate Change COP26 - we edit an online journal for youth (harmonyyouthvoices.com). I helped found my college's Sustainability Council, and I'm an active member of our Natural History Society (NHS). As a leader of my primary King's College School Eco-Society, I was also founding co-chair of the Cambridge Schools Eco-Council with pupils from many schools across my community. We won the UK Rotary Young Environmentalist Award for our work to protect local fenlands by stopping emissions sources, restoring sinks and mobilising our school and society on climate change.

Through councils and projects, speaking out in conferences and events, hosting online Eco-Seminars about the SDGs, and helping to organise Cambridge’s climate strikes, I’ve been working hard to raise awareness and educate about sustainability - locally and globally.

But it's clearly not enough - climate change is getting worse, not better, and we need to do everything we can to support organisations who are helping to make a difference.

That's why I'm paddling to the sea this summer. I hope very much that you could help sponsor my campaign.

I'm also thanking the brilliant Mike Scialom and Keith at the Cambridge Independent for helping to raise awareness through journalism, such as: https://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/school-striker-to-kayak-to-sea-in-environmental-fundraiser-9325765/

You can sponsor me, and/or also join me for the send-off, either to paddle together for the first hour, or cycle or run alongside, or meet us along the way to cheer. We embark at 9am from Sheep's Green on Coe Fen, likely on 29 August (but TBC depending on weather conditions). The date will be confirmed here, and there is also an eventbrite link to sign up, in the Indy article. Children, students and others are all very welcome!

Thank you!