“Renewable is doable, it’s you-able and me-able,

not just one-able, it’s two-able or three-able,

food stays growable, enjoyable and chewable,

science shows a future foreseeably agreeable.”

– From the poem “Energy” by Chris Redmond

A movement born from urgency

Liv and Chris found their way to the intersection of poetry and climate through different routes. Liv wrote a poem on her experience of motherhood at a time of climate emergency, which energised the Mothers Rise Up movement.

Chris was delivering his spoken word and music shows, wondering how he could make use of his skills in the climate space. When an after-show conversation with an attendee, Dr Michal Nachmany then working at the LSE, led Chris to learn about hugely successful divestment campaigns, it shook his understanding of the climate movement. Chris had only ever seen the ‘doom and gloom’, negative framing of the climate crisis. This inspired Chris and Liv, the Hot Poets, to seek out complexity within climate storytelling. They wanted to reset the climate conversation – what could we achieve if we had our imagination guiding us? How are the climate stories we hear and tell shaping what we think is still possible?

What formed from this quest is a collaboration between Liv, Chris, dozens of poets and 12 partners from various sectors and spaces, with organisations such as the Met Office, RSPB, LSE and more. Every door they opened led them to amazing conversations about inventions and opportunities for climate action, success stories and waves of momentum.

Hot Poets set upon creating inspiring classroom resources, partnering each poet up with a climate science expert or organisation. Together, they introduce young people to the green transition, but not only through facts and stats – through bringing in reflection and shared knowledge that already exists within the classroom, between the pupils and the adults. They allow the space for emotions, for creativity and conversation about what feels true, what feels possible, to help learners and adults to reorient themselves towards identifying solutions and feeling safe in the transition towards action.

“How can you build buildings taller than you?

With special holes in that keep us all cool?

So we don’t pollute, who’d know what to do?

Um… the termite might.”

– From the poem “The Termite Might” by Testament

Holding space for the whole classroom

Through their work with schools, Hot Poets catalyse poetry into an experience. Fundamental elements of poetry such as technique, structure and creative process are all carefully considered and adapted to work with the National Curriculum. But to make climate poetry land with KS2-3 pupils, they delve so much deeper. They look at each pupil individually, and as part of a bigger ecosystem, asking them, “Who are you? What do you feel, or think, about this? What does it feel like to experience heat, flooding, connecting with nature?”

Hot Poets worked with Michael Rosen to make the poetry accessible and engaging to learners, and with climate and education experts at UCL and the University of Oxford to root it in latest research and best practice. Each classroom begins by bringing their own knowledge to the table, then expanding to the knowledge within the climate poem – whether that’s about the traces of life in sea water, sitting under a tree, or watching termites build tunnels. Schools can progress through to creating their own poem in response to the input, putting their own spin on the positive transformation they are introduced to, and performing it.

Tangible change as the ultimate goal

Pupils learn in new ways, explore new skills, and apply them in tangible ways. They go on to explore their school grounds, learning about the natural resources and landscapes around them, taking part in citizen science, considering and advocating for climate solutions within their school. Pupils might write to school leaders and governors to advocate for nature-based solutions that they have identified would make the most impact. By empowering young people to grow their own agency and green skills, the work of Hot Poets allows them to feel part of a larger whole.

Interconnectedness that can be so visible in nature becomes visible within school grounds. It inspires the teachers, leaders and parents too, creating an embedded culture change, which is the ultimate goal of Hot Poets. Deeper progress is woven in by inspiring the development of climate action plans, and creating links to National Education Nature Park, Sustainability Support for Education, Climate Ambassadors and Let’s Go Zero.

What may start as an introduction to climate poetry, or a one-off unit of work for English, science and geography, might support learners to become agents of change and chart a long-term sustainability journey. Following the example of Liv and Chris themselves, every learner in every classroom can find their role in imagining and creating an exciting future.

This year, National Poetry Day on Thursday 1 October 2026 will see Hot Poets taking over the celebration which is themed in “Wonder”, a key part of their climate poetry book “WONDER THUNDER BLUNDER”.

If you’d like to work with Hot Poets or explore their workshops or resources, you can find more information at https://hotpoets.org/schools/.