Councils expand their free activity trails for children for the school summer holidays
From Monday 9 August to Monday 30 August South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils are running FREE Litter Bug Detectives Trails for children in 19 sites across southern Oxfordshire with the chance for schools to win litter picking equipment.
The trails are being managed by local town and parish councils and follow on from a successful pilot of the scheme in four parks at May half term.
The activities are aimed at primary school children and have been produced to promote recycling and reuse messages and explaining the damage litter does to our environment.
Each child who takes part can get a free notebook and pencil and if they get all the answers correct, they can request for a personalised Litter Bug Detectives certificate.
In addition, there will be a prize of free litter picking equipment for schools whose pupils take part.
Cllr David Rouane South Oxfordshire District Council cabinet member for housing and environment said: “It’s a word game, it’s a treasure hunt, it’s an afternoon of family fun in the park. The district councils were delighted with the response from families taking part in the pilot project in four parks over the late Spring half term holiday. It seemed obvious to expand it and we are pleased so many local town and parish councils have been able to host these trails for their residents.”
Cllr Catherine Webber, Vale of White Horse District Council cabinet member for Climate Emergency and the environment, said: “We are delighted that residents and local parish councils have reacted so positively to the messages we are trying to convey about the importance of recycling and not littering. These trails offer the chance for whole families to test their knowledge on waste in a playfully imaginative way. Who would have thought that so much fun could be had with waste! ”
How to take part
- Go to our webpage www.southoxon.gov.uk/litter-bug-detectives-trail and download the trail map of the park to visit. The map will show a trail to 13 sites around the park.
- At each site there will be a question on the themes of waste and recycling. The 13 answers will each provide a letter each to make two words.
- Email the two-word answer and your name and address to waste.team@southandvale.gov.uk before midnight on 5 September and the team will send you a Litter Bug Detective Certificate.
Notes to editors
The trails will be available at the following sites
- Abingdon – Boxhill Park
- Berinsfield – The recreation ground
- Chalgrove – The recreation ground
- Chinnor – Conigre Field
- Drayton – Millennium Green
- Faringdon – Tuckers Park
- Goring – Gardiner recreation ground
- Great Coxwell – local footpaths
- Harwell – The recreation ground
- Kennington – Playfield Road recreation ground
- Kingston Bagpuize – Orchard Gate recreation ground
- St Helen Without – Sandleigh Road recreation ground
- Stanford-in-the-Vale – The village hall recreation ground
- Thame – the town centre and Phoenix Trail
- Uffington – Jubilee Field
- Wallingford – Bull Croft
- Warborough – the village green
- Watchfield – the recreation ground
- Woodcote – the village green recreation ground
The Litter Bug Detective Trails were first run at Edmonds Park in Didcot, Southern Road Recreation Ground in Thame, Abbey Garden Meadows in Abingdon and Memorial Park in Wantage in the late May half term.
