DIRECT CLIMATE COOLING INITIATIVE
DCCI
AWARDS
Direct Climate Cooling Initiative School Awards
Inspiring the Next Generation to Lead Climate Action
The DCCI School Awards celebrate creativity, leadership, and collaboration among pupils aged 8–18, empowering them to take bold action for the planet.
Each category transforms learning into impact – turning schools into classrooms filled with hope and imagination. Supported by scientists, philanthropists, and changemakers, the Awards showcase how storytelling, performance, and innovation can inspire measurable environmental change.
The annual DCCI Awards Ceremony in Brussels unites students, educators, sponsors, and climate leaders to honour schools whose ideas are shaping a sustainable future.
A Celebration of Action and Imagination
Together, the Awards recognise that every act of creativity – whether painted, sculpted, spoken, sung, or performed – can shape a more compassionate and sustainable world.
For headteachers, the Awards offer an inspiring educational framework that integrates arts, science, and social responsibility. For sponsors, they provide a unique opportunity to support the changemakers of tomorrow – young leaders who are already making a measurable difference today.
Drama Award
The Drama Award invites schools to bring Taken by Storm to life – a play adaptation of the first book in The Woodland Sprite Series. Through performance, pupils explore the emotional truths behind environmental challenges and discover how art can awaken empathy and inspire transformation, with the opportunity to win an individual prize for Drama, or for the whole school.
Each production becomes a living expression of hope and courage, blending imagination with education to show that storytelling and acting it out can be a catalyst for real-world change.
Art Award
The Art Award is inspired by themes in the Woodland Sprite Series or emotive climate subject matter. Works will be exhibited on the DCCI website and may be sold in aid of the charity supported by the school.
We introduce professional artists to inspire the students, who kindly donate a piece of art to boost the fundraising appeal.
Leadership & Fundraising Presentation Award
The Leadership Award recognises pupils who inspire others through courage, empathy, and responsibility – those who see a problem, mobilise their peers, and lead solutions. It is closely linked to the Fundraising Presentation Award, which highlights schools developing innovative campaigns for charitable projects described in The Farm and All at Sea.
From restoring degraded farmland to supporting marine conservation, pupils present their ideas to panels of experts and sponsors, demonstrating initiative, teamwork, and vision. Together, these awards celebrate the next generation of environmental leaders – young people whose integrity drives action and whose creativity funds change.
Music Award
The Music Award celebrates musical excellence inspired by Taken by Storm, featuring songs and scores composed by Wendy Gadian. Pupils are invited to perform and interpret these pieces through voice and instrument, weaving music into storytelling to amplify the emotional power of climate awareness.
This category highlights the harmony between creativity and nature – showing how music can cross boundaries, have emotional impact, and unify communities in shared purpose.
"I was introduced to Fleur and the Direct Climate Cooling Initiative by my cousin, the scientist and meteorologist Professor Alan Gadian. I was blown away by her work in The Woodland Sprite series - particularly the adaptation of her book Taken by Storm as a stage play - and the powerful message of the organisation: to educate the next generation on the catastrophic, global impact of climate change; of our responsibility to work collectively for our environment; but also the message of inspiration and confidence for young people to step forward as our changemakers."
Wendy Gadian
Musical Director
