Chorlton greens up for 100 Days and beyond

27/05/2008

Chorlton residents and schoolchildren have exceeded themselves in this year's100 Days campaign to create a cleaner, greener city. The Manchester City Council campaign, now in its fifth year, started in February and ended on Saturday, May 24.

Early into this year's campaign, teams went to Chorlton town centre to encourage residents to recycle more and pledge to reduce their use of plastic bags, while a competition was launched for school children to design an eco-friendly carrier.

More than 1,000 people signed the pledge, and Chorlton High School student Kael Oakley came up with the winning design. The City Council has now produced 500 bags featuring Kael's design, to be distributed at environmental events over the next few months.

The City Council had earlier promised to reward the community with a planting scheme if 1,000 names were collected, and after consultation with local groups, officers will now create a new wildlife area in Beech Road Park, planting special species to encourage the area's biodiversity.

Celebrity chef Simon Rimmer also visited Chorlton High School back in February to give students a master class in cookery, using only fair trade ingredients, and his recipe for ethical chocolate brownies was a huge hit with the youngsters.

Residents and City Council staff also held clean-up events across the area as part of this year's campaign.

The Friends of Chorlton Ees and Beech Road Park braved a wet Bank Holiday Sunday in May to make 50 hanging baskets, bug hotels and bird boxes and transform the churchyard at Chorlton Green.

There was also a litter pick on Chorlton Ees, when volunteers collected 25 bags of rubbish in just two hours, and an evening bird walk in the Mersey Valley to engage local people with the rich diversity of wildlife in Chorlton.

Staff at Chorlton Leisure Centre came out in force to clean up and green up their frontage on Manchester Road, while Cheltenham Road residents cleaned up their newly gated alleyway and decorating it with plants.

Councillor Paul Andrews, Manchester City Council's Executive Member for Neighbourhood Services, said: "This year's 100 Days campaign has been a resounding success, engaging hundreds of residents and schoolchildren from all over Chorlton in a variety of events that will make them think about and enjoy improving the environment."