Schools spread the eco word

EVERY pupil in the four primary schools of Grasscroft and Greenfield has been enlisted to hammer home the green message.

Youngsters from Friezland, St Anne’s Lydgate, Greenfield Primary and Greenfield St Mary’s schools entered their own ideas of a design to promote green living into a competition run by Greenfield and Grasscroft Residents’ Association.

And the result is a smart environmentally-friendly cotton bag printed with one design from each school, on sale for £1 at local shops and from the schools.

Seeds for the project were planted by the residents’ association more than 12 months ago, when a grant from the former Saddleworth and Lees Community Council enabled it to get off the ground and apply for a National Lottery grant.

The cash covered the cost of the project, and more than 500 schoolchildren — every child in the four schools — were given bags to spread the eco-word.

Mike Rook, residents’ association secretary, said it had been a great way to unite the community in a scheme which is good for the planet.

The bag is on sale at more than 20 outlets to encourage local people to use them instead of plastic bags, which are costly to the environment. Around 500 have so far been sold, and the money raised from sales will be used to buy more bags to sell.

“We wanted to give a bag to each child because they are the future, and it was an educational as well as a community project,” said Mike.

The environmentally-friendly Fairtrade cotton bags, which were made in a carbon-neutral factory, sport the four winning eco-designs printed in lilac and green.

The bag also appears on the company’s website, www.bagsofethics.org