Pupils ready to show McConnell litter-busting skills

Published on Friday 2 February 2007 11:55

FIRST Minister Jack McConnell is due to hear from pupils who took part in a successful litter-busting campaign at Currie Community High School today.

The visit comes as the project has been shortlisted for the finals of the Keep Scotland Beautiful, People and Places Awards 2007.

The Currie High scheme involved pupils delivering presentations during assemblies, monitoring litter hotspots and providing photos of these areas after lunch over a six-week period.

The initiative proved to be a success in tackling the litter problem, and other schools in the Capital, such as Leith Academy, are now considering starting similar projects.

Councillor Robert Cairns, the city's environment spokesman, said: "This is a great initiative, on which these young people have worked very hard.

"It is very encouraging to see future generations taking steps to protect their environment and getting into the habit of disposing of their litter responsibly."

Both council representatives and pupils from the school will attend the Keep Scotland Beautiful Awards later this month.

Alison Nind, environmental projects co-ordinator at Currie Community High School, said: "Litter dropped at lunch and break in the school and surrounding streets has been an ongoing problem for some time, and was identified by our eco-committee as an issue they would like to work on.

"Our team of S6 pupils showed great commitment to the project and came up with fresh ideas to get their message across."