School-children take key role in anti-littering campaign Hundreds of pupils in Kenfig Hill, Pyle and Cefn Cribwr have been busy taking part in an anti-littering campaign, learning about the effects of rubbish left discarded both in their community and on the beach. The 12-week project which took place in six primary schools is part of the ‘Our Community… Love It, Don’t Trash It!’ campaign. It has been a joint collaboration between Bridgend County Borough Council, Keep Wales Tidy and the local Corneli, Cefn Cribwr and Pyle community councils, together with SeaQuest. As part of the project, children took part in a survey around nearby streets and parks, recording all the different types of litter they found, and doing their own litter pick. Meanwhile around 250 children took part in one of SeaQuest’s beach days. They then used their experiences as inspiration to create posters urging people to not drop litter and highlighting the consequences of it. Featuring colourful artwork and creative slogans encouraging residents and visitors to bin their waste, the posters will soon appear around the area. The overall winning design – created by seven-year-old MazieMay from Mynydd Cynffig – contrasts two scenes, one with litter and one without, next to the slogan ‘Stop dropping, start picking’. Mazie-May’s design will now be seen on signs placed onto the bins and lamp-posts throughout Corneli, Pyle, Kenfig Hill and Cefn Cribwr. Mynydd Cynffig Primary School pupil Mazie-May was the overall winner of Bridgend County Borough Council’s ‘Our Community... Love It, Don’t Trash It!’ poster competition. It is also set to appear on a flyer which will be delivered to households in the area. The project ended with a special event on Friday, January 31 when children presented their findings from the campaign to local dignitaries in the Bethlehem Church Life Centre, Cefn Cribwr. Bridgend County Borough Council’s deputy leader Hywel Williams said: “It has been wonderful to see the children’s enthusiasm for this project and their creative designs which will now be turned into signs and placed across their community.
“There is no excuse when it comes to dropping litter and I hope their message will inspire others to keep their community clean and tidy.”
School-children with their winning poster designs, and Bridgend County Borough Council’s deputy mayor Ken Watts Brian Jones from Keep Wales Tidy said the children had loved learning about their local environment. He said: “There’s been a great response to the campaign, children have really enjoyed the opportunity to get out into their community and onto the beach, where they see the consequences of littering in different environments. “For the winner of the poster competition, seeing their design turned into signs is amazing with all the feedback that comes from their family and friends.” Jo Taylor-King, assistant manager of SeaQuest, said: “SeaQuest have been delighted to see such a magnificent response to the Love It, Don’t Trash It! campaign which has highlighted the issues of public litter in our communities, and raised awareness of the impact of litter on our marine environment. “Over 250 children participated in our interactive beach-based workshop and have gone on to produce some incredible thoughtprovoking posters.” The primary schools which took part in the project involved Afon Y Felin, Cefn Cribwr, Corneli, Mynydd Cynffig, Pil and Ysgol Y Ferch O’r Sger. Each school has been given a litter picking kit so schools can continue taking care of their local area. The ‘Love It, Don’t Trash It!’ campaign which first began in Porthcawl last year is moving across the county, with schools in Brackla currently participating in the project and another planned later this year in the Ogmore Vale called Our Valley. For more information, contact communications officer Elizabeth Bradfield on (01656) 643663 or Email: elizabeth.bradfield@bridgend.gov.uk Website: www.bridgend.gov.uk
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