Children from all over the Ards and North Down borough are taking an Environmental Family Pledge whereby they are encouraged to deliver on a promise made through an innovative initiative that Ards and North Down Borough Council are rolling out this November/December.
The initiative, called C.L.E.A.R, associates community, learning, environmental, awareness and responsibility, to the environment through a series of 5 workshops set in the Risk Avoidance Danger Awareness Resource (RADAR) centre.
Ards and North Down Borough Council have partnered with RADAR and a voluntary beach cleaning group, North Down beach cleaners, to develop this be-spoke programme which has been financed from the Recycling Community Investment Fund, raised by all the re-cycling efforts by the residents in Ards and North Down, accumulating an extensive £1.2 million saving in landfill tax. This has allowed the council to not only minimise any rates increase but also to re-invest this money into new environmental initiatives such as C.L.E.A.R.
These 5 workshops are aimed at all year 8 pupils in the borough and started on Monday 27 November, taking place over a three-week period – 1,800 local pupils will take part. Set in the impressive location of RADAR, a multi-purpose village built within a warehouse, the children will learn about biodiversity, recycling, environmental crime, dog awareness and good citizenship. By educating the next generation of citizens the programme tackles environmental issues in an interactive, innovative and enjoyable way.
Mayor of Ards and North Down, Councillor Robert Adair, stated that “the CLEAR initiative is all about our young people having a unique opportunity to learn key messages about environmental responsibility in a really fun and effective way”.
The team heading the workshops are getting fantastic feedback with encouraging reviews from pupils and teachers.
David Lindsay, Director of Environment in the Council said, “For every child that makes the pledge along with their families the Council will award a bursary to their school, that can then be used to further pupils’ environmental education. As long as the residents of the borough maintain and improve their commitment to maximising recycling of their household waste, we will continue to reap the financial benefits – and can use the money saved to keep funding important initiatives such as the CLEAR environmental education programme as well as many other projects from our Recycling Community Investment Fund.”
Will you make the pledge? Be environmentally responsible.