Pupils from six city schools have been taking part in an online campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of littering, fly-tipping and plastic pollution. The children from four primary and two secondary schools have helped to put together and star in a collection of short films highlighting the problems of illegal dumping.
The “Love Where You Live” campaign includes some of the youngsters adopting the roles of wild animals, to explore the problems they would cause if they discarded waste in the same way humans do.
The series of 30 to 45 second short films form the backbone of the six-week online campaign, which encourages viewers to interact and join in the discussion.
The schools taking part include Castle Mead Academy and King Richard III Junior School, who both explored fly-tipping; Catherine Junior School and Rushey Mead Academy who both looked at the dangers of marine pollution; while Rushey Mead Primary School and Shaftesbury Junior School both studied the damage caused to animals by the illegal disposal of waste.
The campaign is being supported by the Government’s Litter Innovation Fund, which is jointly funded by the Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and administered by sustainability charity WRAP, to explore new ways to tackle littering.
Following a bid last year, the city council was awarded £10,000 from the Litter Innovation Fund.
Leicester’s deputy city mayor responsible for the environment, Cllr Adam Clarke, said: “This campaign has seen children coming up with creative ways to learn about the impact of littering, the damage it causes to the environment and the dangers it presents to local wildlife.
“These short films are quite striking in illustrating the problems caused by illegal waste disposal, which I hope bring attention to the problem and serve to get more young people involved in thinking about the steps they can take to tackle it.”
If you wish to see more about the campaign and view these videos, you can do so here.
