Year 9 student Daisy McDonald will see her artistic talent recognised this week when the Lewes Pound 2020 is launched featuring her design.

The 13-year-old won a competition launched by the organisers of the Lewes Pound amongst local schools back before lockdown which gave pupils a brief of creating a picture that echoes the movement’s desire to highlight climate change.

Now Daisy’s dazzling depiction of a cyclist breezing through a floral landscape will be emblazoned across hundreds of notes of the currency.

The Lewes Pound was created with the aim to support local traders by keeping money circulating locally, promote social justice and support UN sustainability goals. Organisers have commissioned several designs from artists but Daisy is the only child to have her work on the new currency. Organisers hope her design, which depicts low carbon transport and blooming flowers, reminds people about climate change but in an upbeat way.

Lewes Pound CIC director Susan Murray said: “We felt that Daisy’s design would work well in the context of our aims. We also wanted to say something positive about climate change rather than being all gloom and doom and her combination of wildflowers and low carbon transport really fit that bill. We also have a climate change note from Extinction Rebellion Lewes and Daisy’s note fits well with that in terms of colouring and message.”

Daisy added: “The brief asked people to come up with an image which shows how the small things we do can make a big difference to help the planet. That everyone can do something positive in their community to help climate change. My design took me about six hours but I had been thinking about ideas and taking photos for inspiration since I heard about the competition.

“I am excited and proud that my design won because lots of people will see a piece of art that I designed and I hope that it will inspire people to think about our environment and look after our lovely town.

 “My thinking behind my design was how beautiful Lewes could be if people didn’t drive so much but cycled instead. I love nature and I noticed that during lockdown there were beautiful wild flowers all around the streets because the verges weren’t being cut and people were driving less, causing less air pollution. I would like it to be like that all the time. I had the cycling idea because my dad belongs to a cycling club and I noticed that during lockdown there were more people cycling because the roads were less busy with cars.”

Lewes Old Grammar School Head of Practical Arts Ms Dinmore said: “Daisy’s design sums up the brief so well, celebrating the beauty of Lewes but also reminding people about the importance of doing your best to reduce carbon emissions. She also used her own thoughts and experiences of lockdown to inform her work – we are very proud of her.”