Southport School pupils could win £10,000 by sharing their Big Green Dream

SECONDARY School pupils across the UK are being asked to share their School's big green dream, with the boldest ideas to be awarded £10,000 to help turn ideas into reality. The ScottishPower Green Energy Trust, an independent charity which helps community renewable energy projects get off the ground, is calling on School pupils in Year 7 to 8 in England and Wales and S1 – S2 in Scotland to submit their:- 'Big Green Dream.' They can submit creative entries such as drawings, videos, collages, poems or paintings. The entries will be judged by the ScottishPower Green Energy Trust and 1 School will receive the top prize of £10,000 to make their dream a reality. Four runners up will receive £5,000 for their School and 8 Schools will receive £1,000. Funded entirely by donations from Scottish Power's Green Energy Fund customers, the Green Energy Trust has awarded over £1.6 million to more than 154 projects since it was 1st established in 2000.  Alison McKean, Social and Environmental Policy Manager at ScottishPower and a Trustee of the ScottishPower Green Energy Trust, said:- "We're asking School pupils across the country: what's your School's big green dream? Young people have incredible ideas for making their Schools more environmentally friendly and to put renewable energy to good use on campus. We want to hear their ideas and make their green dreams a reality. Since 2000, the Green Energy Trust has supported 154 renewables projects across the UK. We're proud to have played our part in supporting the expansion of community renewable energy across the country."

For more information about the competition or to submit an entry, please visit:- BigGreenDream.Co.UK.

Deadline for entries to annual Christopher Salmon poetry competition fast approaching

DON'T forget to submit your entries for this year's Christopher Salmon poetry extravaganza before the deadline on 19 January 2018. The Christopher Salmon foundation and Wirral Libraries have teamed up once again to deliver the annual poetry competition following the event's huge success in 2016. Now in its 8th year, the competition began as a tribute to former Calday Grammar School student Christopher Salmon who tragically lost his life to a rare streptococcal infection in February 2009, aged just 15.  The theme for the 2017 competition is "memories" and is open to Wirral residents of all ages. Both winners and runners up in each age category will be awarded cash prizes and will be given the chance to attend a workshop with renowned local poet John Hughes. The prizes will be presented by Mr. Hughes at an awards evening for the winners and their families at Birkenhead Town Hall. The overall winner for the aged 18 or under category will also become Wirral's Young Poet Laureate for the following 12 months; with all winning poems being published in an anthology which will be available for purchase. Chris's Parents Julie and Rich Salmon said:- "We are absolutely delighted that the competition has grown so much in popularity and now attracts entrants whose ages range from 4 to 94. It is wonderful to be able to do something positive and creative in Christopher's memory which captures the imagination of so many talented people."  The Christopher Salmon Foundation was set up in 2009 and has so far raised almost £50,000 for charity in Christopher's memory. Full details of this year's competition and official entry forms will be available from Wirral libraries and on the charity's website. Completed forms should be returned to Diane Mitchell at Birkenhead Library by 19/01/2018.