Lets 'ear it for the Big Listen!

More than 200 children from across Rochdale borough joined together at the Heywood Civic Centre to have their say during the Big Listen.

The fun-filled, action packed day of environmentally themed activities, workshops and feedback sessions was the climax to a week of events aimed at giving young people a voice.

Pupils took part in workshops, which included environmentally friendly schools, children’s rights and responsibilities, energy saving in the home and safety on the streets. The activities encouraged children to air their views, thoughts and ideas, not only on their local environment, but also on the planet.

Representatives from Rochdale Borough Council’s Environmental Management team, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing and Police Community Support Officers (PCSO’s) ran the workshops in which children learnt about reusing items as well as recycling them. They even got chance to make monsters out of household waste including cardboard boxes, plastic drink bottles and cartons. Another group were taught how to change washers on leaking taps to save water and the importance of using energy saving light bulbs and turning off equipment when it isn’t being used.

Decision makers from the council, partners and other service providers attended the afternoon feedback session where the children shared what they had learnt and said what they thought would make the borough a nicer place to live. Their ideas included more trees and green spaces to play in, patrolled by PCSO’s in school holidays to make them feel safer, more activities for older children and more waste bins outside.

In response, Rochdale Borough Council Executive Director Terry Piggott pledged to make things better for the children of the borough:

“All of the people here today have listened carefully to your comments and suggestions. We will act on what we have heard to improve the environment you live in.”

The mayor, Councillor Robin Parker congratulated the children for their feedback and was particularly pleased to hear that there are 79 eco-schools in the borough:

“I’ve been really impressed with the ideas and the enthusiasm I’ve seen today and I hope you have all enjoyed the day. I’m really impressed to hear there are so many eco-schools in the borough as they are really important”

The event was hosted by the Children’s Empowerment Project at SureStart who organised a host of activities during the Big Listen week. Other events taking place in Middleton included ‘Watch It Grow’ and bird feeder making sessions at Langley Children’s Centre and litter picking at Hollins Children’s Centre.