Kate and Wills go green as they meet school kids in London's Kew Gardens

Prince William and Kate Middleton have attended the Generation Earthshot event at London's Kew Gardens on Wednesday (Thursday morning AEST).

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met with London Mayor Sadiq Khan, naturalist and TV presenter Steve Backshall MBE, Olympian Helen Glover and local school kids ahead of the inaugural Earthshot Prize Awards ceremony on Sunday.

"Education is such an important part of protecting our planet," Prince William said.

RELATED: Victoria Arbiter: The rallying cry that's echoed through three generations of royals

"We must inspire in the next generation the optimism, confidence and enthusiasm to chase those solutions and to continue building a more sustainable future.

"We know that young children already identify the climate as one of their biggest worries, and Generation Earthshot aims to educate and encourage them that together we can find the answers.

"Children can be uniquely creative and I can't wait to see some of the ideas that are shared with us."

The couple met with kids from The Heathland School, Hounslow to generate big, bold ideas to repair the planet and to help spark a lasting enthusiasm for the natural world.

Keeping in theme with her outfit, the Duchess donned multiple shades of green for the outing.

The first ever Earthshot Prize Awards will be held on Sunday at the iconic Alexandra Palace in London, with an Aussie among the the 15 finalists from around the world.

Five awards will be handed out on the night with the Duchess among the presenters, along with actresses Emma Watson and Emma Thompson. While Ed Sheeran and Coldplay have been announced among the performers for the night.

The inaugural awards ceremony for Prince William's pet project - which also has a TV series to go with it - comes just weeks before the UK hosts the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, which members of the royal family will attend alongside politicians and experts.