Thursday 10 November 2016

Young Eco-Warriors: New 'Cleaner Streets' App for primary schools

Bapchild & Tonge School 'Eco-warriors' using the app to report litter
Brent Council already operates the Cleaner Brent Phone App for reporting flytipping and much else.  Could we see Brent schools using something similar in the future?

Primary schools across the country are invited to join a national clean-up mission, using the latest technology to help make the area around their school cleaner.

Environmental reporting app, Love Clean Streets, was successfully used by Eco-Schools across England in July this year. The successful pilot study took place with 11 primary schools from Rochdale to Kent and has resulted in the Love Clean Streets Board committing to develop the app further for use within the curriculum.

Year 5&6 Woolmore Primary School Students making a report of a vehicle part on the pavement
The modified app, developed specifically for primary school children to use, will be launched in schools throughout the UK in early 2017 and will be fully functional as a tool for both learning and taking action on local environmental issues in school catchment areas. Teachers involved in the pilot study reported considerable learning skills and educational value across the curriculum, positively mentioning benefits to Personal Social Health Economic, litter education, use of technology and demonstrating relevance to our everyday lives, encouraging pupils to be active citizens.

Max, aged 9, a pupil from Middleton Parish C of E Primary School in Middleton, North of Manchester, took part in the pilot study in the summer term which involved looking around the school grounds for environmental issues to report. He said: "The app is good as you can inform people of the areas you don't like and they will then make the environment a better place to live in."

Susannah Butcher, Eco- School leader at Bapchild & Tonge School, said: "The children had a lot of fun taking part in the project. It was an excellent chance for us to do some real work in trying to combat the problem of litter in the school area. " Pupils liked that they could take a picture, detail the problem and send it off themselves. They liked it even more when an overflowing bin outside the school as reported at lunchtime and by end of school at 3.15 it had been emptied!

"This project highlighted a variety of local environmental issues and raised questions with the children, which ensured they were fully engaged and motivated by the task. Smart phones and tablets are big part of children's lives, so showing them how these can be used in a positive way made the lesson really enjoyable for them," said Susannah.

Sophie, aged 11, a pupil from Bapchild & Tonge School in Kent, said: "I hate seeing litter on the way to school. With the app I can let someone know there is litter and it is cleaned up." Love Clean Streets Founder, Ian Blackburn, said: "We believe that educating the next generation on the importance of keeping our environment clean is a step in the right direction to ensure our world is a cleaner, happier place to live for generations to come. By getting involved with the LCS Education Project, children will ensure the issues do not go unnoticed and will inspire their peers to follow their lead."

Primary schools across the UK are invited to register their interest in taking part next summer by contacting Ian Blackburn on +44 203 126 4885 or emailing ian@bbits.co.uk. A further announcement will be made next spring when the revised app for primary schools has been tested and is ready for UK roll-out.



No comments: