Learning and Communication for Sustainable Development

Ards Borough Council: Environmental Education Programme

Ards Borough Council has developed an Environmental Education Programme to promote environmental responsibility and citizenship. The programme has been developed to coordinate with the ethos of environmental education as defined by CCEA (Council for the Curriculum Examinations and Assessment). The three key themes of the scheme are 'environmental education', 'canine education' and 'waste, recycling and the environment'. Elements within the programme include anti-litter presentations, environmental and landscape change, early man, biodiversity, global warming and air pollution, depot visits, environmental work experience, and 'reduce, reuse and recycle' seminars. The scheme has been extremely successful, receiving a number of accolades including five national Green Apple Awards, the Queen Mother's Birthday Award for Environmental Excellence, the Cabinet Office Environmental Best Practice Award and the Irish National Green Champions 2002 Award.

Elements of this programme are aimed at a more adult audience with council officers being available to groups for talks on how they can reduce waste.

STEM Project

IN 2004 the Southern Group Environmental Health Committee secured £1.5m funding from the East Border Region Interreg IIIA Partnership. The aims of the project were to encourage and support 270 SMEs in the East Border Region to implement Environmental Management Systems (EMS) and to adopt more sustainable practices that reap benefits such as:

· Reduction in resource consumption (e.g. energy, raw materials)
· Waste minimisation / waste diverted to landfill
· Enhanced legal compliance / reduced risk of pollution to land, air and water
· Enhances competitiveness / access to new markets
· Financial savings / enhanced economic viability

Under guidance from STEM, Newtownards firm Peninsula Print and Design has achieved the BS5888 accreditation that formalises the company's status as an environmentally friendly printer. The company is committed to ensuring that any negative impact of the manufacturing process on the environment is kept to an absolute minimum. Similarly, Greenfield Foods Ltd, a local Monaghan business, has been awarded the BS8555 Environmental Standard following their participation on the STEM Project

This project used councils in Northern Ireland to set an example to local businesses by going through the process at the same time as the companies they recruited to participate. Both councils and businesses developed new knowledge and skills and the practices an EMS focuses on helps achieve the actions and targets mentioned throughout this document.