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Super suburb is cleaning up

Marie Burchill
5/ 6/2008

RESIDENTS and schoolchildren across Chorlton have come out on top following a major campaign to make Manchester a cleaner and greener place to live.

Officials from Manchester City Council say that people from the suburb have ‘exceeded all expectations’ in the council-run 100 Days green campaign – a programme designed to promote eco-friendly initiatives.

During the campaign Chorlton became a pilot area for an initiative to dramatically reduce the usage of plastic bags – with the final aim of helping residents ditch them for good, in favour of re-usable bags.

More than 2,000 people signed up to the pledge to ditch plastic bags over the course of the 100 days campaign.

Now bosses at Manchester City Council have vowed to reward residents for all of their efforts, by planting a wildlife area in Beech Road Park, to encourage the area’s biodiversity.

Val Stevens, Chorlton Councillor and deputy leader of Manchester City Council, said: "We are delighted that the people of Chorlton have pulled together to create such impressive results as part of the 100 days campaign."

Chorlton mums – including GP Anna Jordan – played their part in the campaign by championing the use of recyclable cotton nappies, in an effort to stop disposable ones being sent to landfill sites.

Many other events also took place around the suburb as part of the green initiative, including a school-based competition during which school pupils had to create and design an eco-friendly carrier bag. Winner of the competition was Kael Oakley from Chorlton High School. Manchester City Council has now produced 500 bags featuring Kael’s design, which are to be distributed at environmental events over the coming months.

Councillor Paul Andrews, the executive member for neighbourhood services at Manchester City Council, said: "This year’s 100 Days campaign has been a resounding success, engaging hundreds of residents and school children from all over Chorlton in a variety of events that will make them think about and enjoy improving the environment."

Celebrity chef Simon Rimmer also got in on the 100 Days action during a visit to Chorlton High School, where he gave students a masterclass in cookery – using only Fair Trade ingredients.

The Friends of Chorlton Ees and Beech Road Park played their part as they braved a wet Bank Holiday Sunday to make 50 hanging baskets, bug hotels and bird boxes and they transformed the churchyard at Chorlton Green as part of a clean-up.

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

The 100 Days campaign was launched on February 14 and was brought to a close with a fashion show – featuring hats designed to look like bugs by youngsters from Old Moat Primary school in Withington.