Schools across the UK are raising awareness of climate change in the run-up to the United Nations Copenhagen conference, which starts next week.

But while greenhouse gases, melting icecaps and household waste are the more traditional topics teachers use to get the message across, one school in Wales has introduced pupils to Dai the blue dragon, a character devised by Stop Climate Chaos Cymru, a campaign coalition.

Pupils from Mount Stuart Primary in Cardiff accompanied Dai to the Welsh Assembly, where they met the Welsh environment minister and called for meaningful action in Copenhagen.

Peter Morris, Mount Stuart head, said it was important to use ideas like this to engage children in the preparations for the climate change discussions. “The sooner we start with the youngest children, the better,” he said.