Schoolchildren Think Green to achieve Arts Awards

Schoolchildren were quick to Think Green when creating futuristic designs to achieve their Arts Awards.

Pupils at Canon Burrows CofE Primary School in Ashton are supporting Tameside Council’s Think Green campaign and have achieved their ‘Keen to be Green’ Arts Award by turning junk destined for landfill into robots.

Mayor of Tameside Councillor Tafheen Sharif presented the children with their certificates in a ceremony attended by Tameside Council’s Executive Member for Climate Emergency and Environmental Services, Councillor Denise Ward, Executive Member for Culture, Heritage and Digital Inclusivity, Councillor Sangita Patel, and ward Councillor Dave Howarth.

The Mayor and Cllr Ward also met the school’s Eco Council to discuss all the fantastic environmental work the school does.

To create the robots the school worked with Mark Haig of Gizmobots, who crafts quirky robot sculptures from objects found in car boot sales, skips and scrapyards, with some turned into items such as desk lights or radios using old electronic equipment and his engineering skills.

Think Green aims to inspire residents and local businesses to join the journey to a cleaner and greener Tameside. It’s part of the Council’s Climate Change Strategy , an action plan which creates collective responsibility for the borough’s environment. A key part is the important role the borough’s young people play in changing habits and spreading the message of being environmentally friendly.

The Council’s Cultural Services, using funding secured by the Community Safety team, organise Arts Awards in schools to inspire young people to be creative and grow their artistic and leadership talents.

Cllr Ward said: “It was wonderful to see the fantastic robots that the inventive children at Canon Burrows have created from waste destined for landfill. They fully deserve their Arts Awards.

“And it was a pleasure to meet the school’s Eco Council and discover all the ways that they Think Green to change habits and put environmentally friendly practices in place to help protect the planet.

“It’s reassuring that future generations share our ambition to work towards a cleaner and greener future for Tameside as the impact of climate change is causing lasting damage to our environment and society.”

For more information about Think Green and ideas about what you can do to help protect the planet, visit www.tameside.gov.uk/thinkgreen