Youngsters go green

Pupil from Springside School on a mini beast hunt

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Children across Rochdale borough have been turning over a new LEAF this month.

Over three thousand pupils from 36 primary and secondary schools have been taking part in a wide range of ‘green’ workshops across the borough as part of Local Environment Action Fortnight - known as LEAF.

LEAF is an annual event which aims to raise awareness of environmental issues in schools. It is held over two separate weeks, with the first week of activities taking place during the spring and the second in autumn.

Organised by Rochdale’s Local Education Partnership inspiredspaces, in partnership with Rochdale Borough Council, this year’s autumn event featured:

• Mini beast hunts 
• Quizzes 
• Building bird houses and insect hotels 
• Pond dipping 
• Tree studies 
• Lethal litter trails 

A variety of ‘green’ themed workshops also highlighted subjects including the importance of bees to the local environment, solar power, recycling and water conservation.

Councillor Colin Lambert, Leader of the Council, said: “It’s wonderful to see so many of our schools getting involved. Encouraging our children into environmentally friendly behaviour while they are young is so important and these fun, interactive events are a great way for children to learn about the impact we all have on our environment and how small changes can make a huge difference.”

Activities throughout the week have been led by:

• Countryside Rangers 
• Link4Life 
• Rochdale Pioneers Museum 
• Inspired Spaces 
• Nature in Focus 
• Environmental education partnership, NatureEd 
• B&Q Rochdale 
• Lancashire Wildlife Trust (LWT) 
• Recycle for Greater Manchester 
• Hedgehog Rescue 
• TRAID 
• Six Rochdale Schools – Matthew Moss, All Souls, St Edwards, Shawclough, Springside, Alkrington 

A range of new activities will be organised for the next LEAF week which will take place in Spring 2014.