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Taking Steps to a Healthier Future
PUPILS in Liverpool will be making strides towards a healthier and more
environmentally friendly future. They will be taking part in International Walk to School
Week 23 to 27 May -when children will be encouraged to walk to and from school or, at least walk the last 5-10 minutes to the school if part of their journey is by car.
One of the schools which is taking part is Childwall C of E Primary School, Woolton Road where this year walking to school will be easier and safer than ever before. The school has been working on their School Travel Plan in partnership with Merseyside TravelWise since 2002 and have been running regular walk to school initiatives ever since.
The aim of a School Travel Plan is to encourage healthier ways of getting to school, benefit the environment, reduce car dependency and generally encourage use of more sustainable methods of transport. Last year the school was awarded a School Travel Plan Grant from the Department for Transport (DfT) for their successful School Travel Plan.
The grant will go towards improvements within the school grounds that will help to promote walking to school and they are currently looking at remote controlled security access.
Now, the City Council has installed a new Puffin crossing to the school entrance, as an issue identified has been the high level of traffic on Woolton Road.
Delia Owen, the teacher in-charge of the Travel Plan, runs walk to school initiatives throughout the year. She said:-
"Walk to School Week and Walking Wednesdays have proved to be very popular and the Puffin Crossing will make our journeys to school safer every day!"
Cllr Peter Millea, Executive Member for the Environment, said:- "Childwall C of E School is to be congratulated for its work in encouraging pupils to walk to school and we hope their example will be followed throughout the city. One of the big problems we have on roads is congestion caused by the school run. I hope this week will make people think of alternative ways of getting to and from schools. It will not only cut down on traffic, help cut pollution but keep our children healthy."
During International Walk to School Week pupils who walk as often as they can will receive prizes and certificates.
Norwegians
would... choose Liverpool for tennis
LIVERPOOL has been given an international seal of approval as the top tennis warm-up for Wimbledon. The Norwegian national team is heading for the city next month for the Liverpool International Tennis Tournament to use the Calderstones Park venue as a training camp.
It provides further proof that the tournament, which takes place between June
8 to 12 June 2005.. is fast establishing itself as the best possible preparation for the grass court season. The Norwegians will enter at least one of their players - Jan Frode Andersen - in the Liverpool International ATP competition, alongside the likes of Ivan Ljubicic, Jan-Michael Gambill and Liverpool's own Ken Skupski.
And Norway's rising star, Cecilie Borgerson, will have a once in a lifetime opportunity to take on the legendary former Wimbledon champion, Martina Navratilova.
Norway coach Pelle Fridell said:- "The team is very excited about the trip to Liverpool and we believe this is an excellent opportunity for our players to gain grass court experience. The facilities at Calderstones Park are first class, the courts are excellent and the opportunity for our team to practice with the very best in the world is an experience you can't buy."
Liverpool City Council's executive member for leisure, Councillor Warren Bradley, said:-
"Liverpool is really well established now as one of the country's leading tennis venues. Top players increasingly look at the Liverpool International as the best possible warm-up for Wimbledon, with fabulous facilities, great crowds and some of the biggest names in the sport."
Tournament Director, Anders Borg - himself a Norwegian - said:- "I'm sure the team will love Liverpool. Both the tournament and the facilities on offer to them at Calderstones are perfect for their training. The players will also be able to use their free time to see Liverpool and soak up the city's unique atmosphere."
The tournament is organised by Northern Vision Ltd, in partnership with Liverpool City Council and the Liverpool Culture Company.
Trees make top prizes
YOUNGSTERS in 3 Warrington schools are celebrating after scooping the top prizes in a recycling competition. During the last 8 weeks, 11,762 pupils at 40 schools across Warrington have taken on the Yellow Woods Challenge - the simple, educational and fun schools environmental campaign, which is run in partnership between Yellow Pages, the Woodland Trust and Warrington Borough Council and supported by
UPM, the major paper supplier for Yellow Pages.
All 40 schools have been collecting old Yellow Pages directories for recycling and a total of 10.1 tonnes will now be recycled into corrugated cardboard.l visits in the trust's woodlands.
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St Monica's Catholic Primary
School is celebrating its success in
winning the local 'Gold Oak' title and the top prize money of £300 for collecting the most directories per pupil. St Andrews CE Primary School receives this year's 'Silver Birch', winning £200, and also £100 for collecting the most Yellow Pages directories in total. Park Road Community Primary School receives the 'Bronze Beech' title and £100. All participating schools will automatically be entered into the UK Finals, where they will have the chance to win £2,000.
For every pound awarded to schools in prize money, a pound is given to the Woodland Trust to support its 'Tree For All' campaign, which aims to help plant 12 million trees during the next 5 years. Funds donated by Yellow Pages and UPM are enabling thousands of schoolchildren across the UK to plant native saplings in their school grounds and to support tree planting and
schoo
As additional support for the Tree For All campaign, Yellow Pages and UPM are awarding native tree saplings to the 3 winning schools and to Appleton Thorn Primary School, St Elphin's Fairfield CE VA Primary School and Croft Primary School for achieving fourth, fifth and sixth place in the challenge.
Cllr Linda Dirir, Executive Board Member for Sustainable Environment, said:- "This has been a fantastic competition and I would like to thank the
children and everyone who has supported them and helped us protect the environment by keeping thousands of directories out of landfill. Schemes such as the Yellow Woods challenge are a good way of teaching children and young people in all our schools about what they can do to help protect the environment."
Richard Duggleby, head of external relations at Yell, the publisher of Yellow Pages directories, said:- "We're delighted with the results of the Yellow Woods Challenge in Warrington and are proud to be helping so many young people understand the importance of caring for the environment and woodland."
NELSON SAILS AGAIN
DISTINGUISHED tall ship, the Lord Nelson, is confirmed as a highlight of the
Mersey River Festival as the event celebrates its 25th anniversary. Alongside the Khersones and the Prince William, the floating trio will sail up the Mersey on the afternoon of Thursday, June 9 and will be open to the public from Friday at Wellington Dock, with full access for disabled people.
It's the first time that Wellington Dock has been used in this way, and is being opened up again to prepare for the increased traffic that the city's European Capital of Culture year in 2008 will bring.
This year, the Mersey River Festival, the largest maritime celebration in the country, has double significance, marking the event's quarter century, as well as taking part in the Culture Company's themed maritime year, Sea Liverpool.
Council leader Mike Storey said:- "Excitement is building around the River Festival, it's a key part of Liverpool's culture and links in with the heritage and use of the sea. With less than a month to go, final
preparations are slotting into place."
Liverpool Culture Company's Jason Harborow, said:- "The Mersey River Festival kickstarts a packed summer of events and entertainment, arts and projects around the theme of the sea. It's a proven success and grows year on year, which is a testament to the interest of the people of the region in the river's history, as well as the amazing skills of organisers across the city council and the Culture Company. It's a classic example of the 2 bodies working together successfully."
The theme of Sea Liverpool ties in with the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, October 21, 1805, which is being celebrated nationally, organised by the Official Nelson Commemorations Committee (ONCC). Named after the world's most famous disabled sailor, the Lord Nelson tall ship will play a significant role in this year's bicentennial celebrations. She has been chosen to deliver the New Trafalgar Dispatch to Spain, France and England - a symbolic recreation of the dramatic delivery of Vice-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood's famous dispatch bearing the first news of the British victory off Cape Trafalgar, and the death of Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson.
This historic re-creation leaves Portsmouth on July 2, during the height of the International Festival of the Sea and, after making official visits to Cadiz and Brest, returns to a fanfare reception in Falmouth on August, 5.
Event organiser Alistair Stott said:- "The Lord Nelson is unique in that disabled people can crew the boat thanks to special facilities, so of the 25,000 people she has taken to sea, 10,000 have been disabled and 4,000 have used a wheelchair. She'll make a fantastic centrepiece to the host of events that are taking place, made all the more important because of the themed Sea Liverpool year and the 25th anniversary of the festival."
Joining Nelson is the Khersones, built in 1989, a 3-masted full rigged windjammer from Kerch /Ukraine which is the only ship of her kind capable of sailing entirely by people-power. Also the Prince William, which is a magnificent 60-metre square-rigged sail training vessel, owned by the Tall Ships Youth Trust.
Highlights of this year's festival will include the Launch of the festival on Friday, May 9 at 7pm at St Nicholas' Church at the Pier Head and the Marriage of the Sea to the Land on Sunday, June 12 at 12.30pm Canning River Entrance, near to Museum of Liverpool Life.
Jet ski races, sword fighting demonstrations, street entertainment, museum exhibitions, fast-roping Marines, plane flyovers and the Mersey International Shanty Festival are just some of the events to draw the crowds.
The festival will have a grand finale with the Parade of Sail on June 12, as vessels of all shapes and sizes on the river in a colourful rehearsal for the Tall Ships Race in 2008.
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