Ballymena schools scoop cash prizes in the Yellow Woods Challenge - 24 February 2005
Youngsters at St. Mary’s Primary School, Ballymena, have won £400 for their school by collecting Yellow Pages directories in a recycling competition.Over the last eight weeks, 6,353 pupils at 35 schools across Ballymena have taken on the Yellow Woods Challenge - the simple, educational and fun schools environmental campaign run by Yellow Pages and the Woodland Trust working with Ballymena Borough Council. The schools have been collecting old Yellow Pages directories for recycling and a total of 11.1 tonnes will now be recycled into egg cartons by Huhtamaki, Lurgan.
St. Mary’s Primary School is celebrating its success in winning the local ‘Gold Oak’ title and the top prize money of £300 for collecting 13.1 directories per pupil. Beechgrove School receives this year’s ‘Silver Birch’, winning £200, and Kirkinriola Primary School receives the ‘Bronze Beech’ title and £100. St. Mary’s Primary School also wins £100 cash for collecting the most Yellow Pages directories in total. All participating schools will automatically be entered into the UK Finals, where they could win a top prize of £2,000 cash.
For every pound awarded to schools in prize money, a matching pound is given to the Woodland Trust to support its new ‘Tree For All’ campaign, which aims to help plant 12 million trees over the next five years. Funds donated by Yellow Pages are enabling thousands of schoolchildren across the UK to plant native saplings in their school grounds and to support tree planting and school visits in the Trust’s woodlands.
As additional support for the Tree For All campaign, Yellow Pages is awarding native tree saplings to the top three winning schools and to Longstone Primary School, Hazelbank Primary School and St. Patrick’s Primary School, Ahoghill, for achieving 4th, 5th and 6th place in the local Yellow Woods Challenge. Frank Jackson at Ballymena Borough Council also receives tree saplings for organising the local Challenge.
Richard Duggleby, head of external relations at Yell, the publisher of Yellow Pages directories, said: “We’re delighted with the results of the Yellow Woods Challenge in the Ballymena Borough and proud to be helping so many young people understand the importance of caring for the environment and woodland.”
The Mayor of Ballymena, Councillor Hubert Nicholl, said: “This has been a fantastic competition and I thank everyone who has supported their local school and helped us protect the environment by keeping thousands of directories out of landfill.”
For further information about the Tree For All campaign, visit www.treeforall.org.uk/yell
