Sedgefield Schools triumph in Yellow Woods Challenge - 25 March 2003
Youngsters at Tudhoe Moor Nursery School in Spennymoor have won £300 to help improve their environment after collecting locally the most Yellow Pages directories per pupil in a new schools recycling initiative.The Yellow Woods Challenge, run by Yellow Pages, The Directory Recycling Scheme and the Woodland Trust working together with Sedgefield Borough Council’s LA21 and Community Rangers teams, offered local schools cash prizes in return for recycling old directories. The Challenge aimed to educate schoolchildren about the importance of recycling and conservation, reduce the amount of paper going to landfill and to support the Woodland Trust.
Tudhoe Moor Nursery School came first, collecting 1506 old directories – the equivalent of 25 per pupil, and now receives its top cash prize from Yellow Pages to spend on improving the school’s environment.
Ferryhill Station Primary School, Ferryhill Station, came second, collecting more than seven directories per pupil and winning £200. Stephenson Way Primary School, Newton Aycliffe came third, collecting nearly two Yellow Pages per pupil and winning £100.
The Yellow Woods Challenge is a simple, fun and educational competition that also aims to help the Woodland Trust, the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. For every pound Yellow Pages has awarded to schools, a pound will be donated to the Woodland Trust to help protect native woodland.
In total, 15 schools and 3754 pupils across Sedgefield Borough took on the Yellow Woods Challenge, collecting 4006 old Yellow Pages in just 12 weeks. These will be recycled by Foreman’s Recycling, Spennymoor.
As well as collecting directories, six schools have taken part in a Yellow Pages sculpture competition. Schools were invited to use their collection of Yellow Pages to create an imaginative sculpture. Stephenson Way Primary School came first. All entries will be entered into the Yellow Woods Challenge National Sculpture Competition.
Additionally, Sedgefield Borough Council is awarding prizes to recognise the importance of the challenge. Stephenson Way will enjoy the creative talent of an artist from Percy’s Recycling in Middlesbrough. They will visit the school over two days and work with the children on art projects using waste materials. All schools taking part in the sculpture competition will receive an A3 framed photograph of their efforts and every school taking part in the competition will receive a can crusher, courtesy of Sedgefield Borough Council, to encourage more recycling.
Each school that participated will be given a certificate, named after a woodland tree, according to the total number of directories collected. The six schools that collected the most directories in total will win CD-roms and videos to teach children about the wonders of ancient woodland.
All the schools from the Sedgefield Challenge will automatically be entered into the Yellow Woods Challenge UK Finals where they will compete with up to 1,000 schools across the UK to win one of three top prizes of £2,000.
Oliver Priestley-Leach, waste management officer with Sedgefield Borough Council, said: “This has been a very exciting competition and we are delighted that teachers and pupils have shown such enthusiasm during the Challenge. I wish our local schools all the best of luck in the UK Finals in September.”
Richard Duggleby, head of external relations with Yell, the publisher of Yellow Pages, said: “The response of school children is a very encouraging indication of how seriously they take issues relating to the environment and its protection. I’d like to thank the Council for organising the Yellow Woods Challenge in Sedgefield and also congratulate all the children, teachers and parents who worked so hard to make the Challenge a success.”
Further information about the Yellow Woods Challenge and environmental educational materials can be obtained from: www.yellgroup.com
