Children from St Mary’s Catholic Primary school in Bradley Stoke have been presented with certificates and £300 for their school after winning a district-wide, litter pick competition.
The competition was arranged by South Gloucestershire Council and funded through the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, High Street Community clean-up events.
Every school in South Gloucestershire was provided with a kit including litter pickers, hoops, bin bags, gloves and hi-vis vests. Schools were then encouraged to organise their own litter picks and report back on their activity to enter the competition.
Children at St Mary’s school made posters about the environmental and social impact of littering and recorded the rubbish they collected. Their analysis enabled them to identify and target specific locations where litter was causing an issue.
The school reinforced the importance of looking after the environment through assemblies, recycling schemes and by offering to lend equipment to other groups in the community.
Cabinet Member for Schools, Skills and Employment, Cllr Erica Williams attended the school to present the certificates. She said: “I’m delighted to present these children with their certificates following our first inter-school, litter pick competition which has been a huge success. I’d like to congratulate the winners here today and everyone who participated.
“Tackling issues such as litter make a big impact on local communities and this competition has inspired pupils to learn about the wider environmental problems associated with waste and to develop solutions for the future.
“Schools are our top priority and schemes such as this enable pupils to learn while also making a positive impact on their local community.”
Head Teacher of St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Kathy Burden said: “The children take environmental issues very seriously and are keen to do all they can to help look after the area they live in.
“They were so enthused with the litter picking challenge that they continued with this over a weekend and created posters and reports to publicise the importance of throwing away litter and recycling. We are all very proud of them.”
Community groups and organisations can also help to tackle litter by taking part in the annual Spring Clean campaign, which runs from 23 February to 10 May this year .
We can supply the equipment, including litter pickers and hoops and arrange to collect the recycling and rubbish. If you are interested in taking part, visit www.southglos.gov.uk/springclean and complete a booking form.
