Children go green
Hundreds of Warwickshire school children have uncovered an array of activities designed to help them lead a more sustainable life.
Based at Ryton Pools Country Park, Sustainability Day 4 Schools (SD4S) this year doubled in size, spanning two days, and involving almost 600 school children in what is the biggest event of its kind in Warwickshire.
It took place on Wednesday and Thursday involving Year 5 and 6 pupils from 21 schools from the Warwick, Rugby and Stratford areas.
The range of activities for children included comedy theatre; examining water and pollution issues; the health and environmental benefits of walking, cycling and car sharing; recycling activities; plus some noisy musical fun with `junk percussion’; and there were ranger-led activities such as kite-making and pond dipping.
Each day saw the judging of the `Junk Monster Challenge’. This was organised prior to SD4S, allowing the school children to discover that reusing waste materials can be great fun. Joining the children’s junk monsters was Biffa’s `daddy’ junk monster standing almost 6ft tall.
The Junk Monster Challenge was organised in conjunction with PSA Peugeot Citroen, the main event sponsor. Youngsters were presented with a `junk box’ of clean industrial packaging and components, and it was down to the children’s vivid imaginations to come up with the most unusual, scary, or friendly Junk Monsters.
Cllr Martin Heatley, the county council’s portfolio holder for the Environment, said: “This is a great way to teach children about being sustainable both at home and at school. Each year SD4S gets bigger and better, and I’m delighted to see the event this year being based at one of Warwickshire County Council’s glorious country parks.
“There couldn’t be a better setting for the hundreds of children to learn more about the many ways they can be more sustainable in their everyday lives.”
One of the children attending the event was ten-year-old David Hall who attends Kingsway Community Primary School, and his family has taken up the Sustainability Challenge. With the assistance of Warwickshire County Council they are living a totally sustainable lifestyle at their home in Lillington.
Cllr John Burton, the county council’s Cabinet member for schools, said: “By reaching hundreds of school children with a sustainable message they grow up realising how easy it is to lead a life where recycling and other measures are easy and just a part of everyday life.
"Our future is in their hands, and judging by the enthusiasm over the last two days, the future is looking bright.
“A huge thank you goes to the event sponsors Tesco, Ecover, Plantasia, Severn Trent Water, Biffa and Peugeot for all their support in making this event happen.”
For further information on SD4S log onto http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/sd4s