Nottinghamshire girl, 6, wins PM award for climate change campaign

A six-year-old girl has received an award from the prime minister for her work in raising awareness of climate change.

Aleesha, from West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, has won the daily Points of Light award.

She has written to hundreds of UK firms and public figures urging them to take environmental action.

The schoolgirl has also raised more than £3,000 for deforestation charity Cool Earth.

Aleesha said: "I never thought I would receive such an award.

"Climate change is a really important issue and I hope raising awareness will tackle this problem."

Ruth Edwards, Conservative MP for Rushcliffe, added: "I'm absolutely delighted to hear that Aleesha has been recognised as one of the Prime Minister's Points of Light for all her amazing work to protect rainforests and raise awareness around climate change.

"I think she is setting a great example of what we can all do to help our environment. This award is truly well-deserved, and I can't wait to see what's next for Aleesha and her campaign."

Aleesha, who has also set up a climate change club at her school encouraging pupils to take part in litter picking and plant trees, is also a youth ambassador for Cool Earth.

Her parents Kiran and Pooja said: "We are so proud of Aleesha, she has done so much over the past year for someone so young.

"She has inspired us all and we hope she continues on this amazing journey."

In the summer, Aleesha rode her scooter 50 miles (80km) to raise money for Cool Earth and received support from Sir David Attenborough and the Queen.

She is the 1,755th person to receive the prime minister's Points of Light award, which was launched in 2014 to recognise people making a difference where they live.

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