“Children need to be equipped with knowledge and skills, but they also need to be inspired, I’m proud to be part of Hot Poets Ignite, which helps young people see positive examples of climate action and feel excited about the future they’ll shape.”

– Michael Rosen

A brand-new nationwide climate education programme spearheaded by Michael Rosen has officially launched — uniting poets, scientists and educators to inspire the next generation of climate actionists through creativity and hope.

Hot Poets🔥 Ignite, developed by Hot Poets in collaboration with the University of Oxford and National Poetry Day, brings together over 20 of the UK’s leading poets and performers with climate scientists and innovators to turn real-world solutions into poetry and classroom inspiration. The project launches just a week before COP30, with the mission to reach more than one million children and teachers across the UK.

“The aim is to ignite a sense of wonder about our natural world and the urgent need to protect it. This is an exercise in changing the story — from all that is wrong to all that is still to play for.” – Liv Torc, Hot Poets Co-Director

The programme’s school resources, developed with Oxford University’s Climate Research Network and UCL’s Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education, will include poems, lesson plans, digital CPDs and video lessons featuring Michael Rosen.

Participating poets include Joseph Coelho, Valerie Bloom, Vanessa Kisuule, Bohdan Piasecki, Kate Fox, Testament, Christian Foley and Matt Harvey.

Partner organisations include UCL, National Poetry Day, Southbank Centre, Met Office, RSPB, British Geological Survey, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, and the Nature Friendly Farming Network.
All 48 poems have been published in the brand-new children’s collection Wonder. Thunder. Blunder. — on sale now. Schools can also book a Hot Poet visit or access exclusive Michael Rosen teaching content through hotpoets.org.

“A thrilling mix of science, imagination and possibility.” — Michael Rosen