Winners announced for second Laudato Si’ Awards
Thursday 3rd July 2025Students across the diocese have pulled out all the stops to care for our common home, bagging a number of awards and nominations in this year’s Laudato Si’ Awards.
Organised by our Laudato Si’ Centre, this year marks the second year of these awards, which seek to reward, encourage, and celebrate our young people’s efforts to uphold Church teaching to be responsible, loving stewards of God’s creation.
The awards were divided into four categories, awarding prizes to individual and group projects for primary schools, one secondary school award, and one overall award.
Congratulating the schools for their hard work, our Head of Environment – Dr Emma Gardner – presented the awards saying: “I would like to start by saying a big ‘thank you’ to each of you because you give us so much joy and hope when we see all the amazing work that you’re doing.
“You can create anything now – you can carry on this work and make amazing changes in the world, so thank you so very much.”
The students were presented with their certificates, awards, and a small plant before taking up the opportunity to explore the grounds of our Laudato Si’ Centre through a range of activities.
Primary
We were delighted to receive so many applications from primary schools across the diocese demonstrating their fantastic work. Eventually, a total of eight primary schools were shortlisted for this year’s awards, including Our Lady and St Gerard’s Primary, Lostock Hall; St Joseph’s Catholic Primary, Reddish; Christ the King RC Primary, Walkden; St John the Baptist RC Primary, Rochdale; St Richard’s RC Primary, Longsight; St Antony’s RC Primary, Blackburn; St Hugh of Lincoln Primary, Stretford; and The Creation Crew from St John’s RC Primary, Chorlton.
Scooping the Individual Award was Melanie from Our Lady and St Gerard’s in Lostock Hall, who impressed the judges with her tireless dedication, her demonstrable practical action, and her beautiful design for the school’s peace garden.
Nominating Melanie, the school said: “Melanie is a passionate steward of the earth. Since being elected by her classmates in September 2024, she has become a valued ambassador of our Laudato Si’ group. She attends after school meetings and gives up her lunch times to carry out our projects, showing a dedication to spreading the Laudato Si’ message. Melanie actively engaged with an energy engineer from the local council, assessing our use of electricity and helping to promote conscious use of energy.”
Melanie also worked closely with our Laudato Si’ Centre to help design and grow the school’s Peace Garden, growing a range of crops such as potatoes, courgettes, peas, beans, strawberries, apples, pears, onions, radishes, spinach, and herbs, and showing great pride in her Bulgarian heritage by recommending family recipes using this homegrown produce.
A spokesperson for the school praised the impact her work has on children and adults alike, saying: “She often shares her knowledge with younger members, encouraging and supporting them to care deeply about our common home. She has taken part in several litter picks around the school and church grounds, including one with councillors in our local community, taking pride in cleaning these areas.”
Bagging our Primary School Group Award was The Creation Crew from St John’s Primary, in Chorlton. The students were nominated after transforming an unused space in the school grounds into a thriving “Camino for Creation” walk with prayer stations, linking two new prayer gardens, an allotment, and a long forest section.
A spokesperson for the school said: “This project has had a transformative impact on both the environment and the school community. With no budget, pupils and staff repurposed found materials – creating a compost heap, installing a water butt, and upcycling rotting wood into functional garden features.
“Their creativity and care have turned neglected grounds into a living classroom and sacred space. The “Camino for Creation” and prayer gardens are open during breaks, offering opportunities for spontaneous prayer, reflection, and awe in God’s creation.”
Secondary
Our celebrations continued into the afternoon with the presentation to our secondary schools, of which three were shortlisted: St Cecilia’s High School, Longridge; St Thomas More RC College, Denton; and St Damian’s Science College, Ashton-under-Lyne.
Thanks to their extensive efforts to teach and inspire others to care for creation, St Thomas More RC College was announced the winner of this year’s award for secondary schools.
The school impressed the judging panel with their widescale efforts to take practical action, from taking on weekly litter picks, developing and maintaining a prayer garden, allotment and wildlife garden, planting Christmas trees in Advent and growing pumpkins for harvest, and even completing workshops with industry experts such as the RSPCA, RSPB, the Woodland Trust, and Chester Zoo.
Not wanting to stop there, the students have been determined to share their learning and enthusiasm with colleagues by leading whole school assemblies on stewardship, starting an eco brick inter-form competition, introducing a Pet Plant Project to teach others to care for plants, and starting a Pilgrims of Hope Nature Walk, educating students on the nature found in school grounds, such as foxes, robins, and seagulls.
Overall Winner
This year’s Overall Award paid tribute to a much-loved tradition and annual event for schools of our diocese, the Great Science Share.
Christ the King Primary School, in Walkden, was awarded the Overall Award, thanks to their role in leading the event, held at the Laudato Si’ Centre, on behalf of their Cluster of Catholic schools.
The event is rooted in prayer, led by pupils from Christ the King, before taking part in “children teaching children” activities to share learning, understanding, and love for all God’s creation.
Reflecting on the day as a whole, Emily Cahill – Environment and Learning Officer for the Laudato Si’ Centre – said: “Just yesterday, Pope Leo shared with us the importance of continuing Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ legacy to care for our common home by reminding us that we are to be the “seeds of hope” for a future of sustainability and justice.
“To us, you are those seeds of hope. You are the generation that will continue this important work to care for the beautiful creation God has entrusted to each of us.”
Tagged | Education | Environment | Events | Laudato Si' Centre
