7 December 1999

EDUCATION MINISTER LAUNCHES ENVIRONMENTAL CODE

Young people should be encouraged to adopt positive lifestyle changes which will improve their environment, the Minister for Education, Martin McGuinness, said today.

The Minister was speaking at the launch of the Green Code Programme for Schools which was held at the headquarters of Ulster Television in Belfast.

On his arrival he was welcomed by John McCann, Managing Director of UTV, and Professor Graham Ashworth, Chairman and Chief Executive of Going for Green, the environmental charity which devised the interactive CD-ROM-based programme.

The Minister said: "The Green Code Programme for Schools is a valuable and fun-to-use way of teaching our young people to make informed and positive decisions about the way to manage our environment in the future.

"Everyone has a role to play in sustaining our environment. We can all cut down on the waste we produce, we can walk the short distance to a shop and we can recycle cans and other materials. If people develop environmentally friendly habits at an early age then that is an investment in a cleaner future.

"This project is a new and exciting way of getting the message across and we have already provided many opportunities within the Curriculum to promote Environmental Education."

 

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NOTES FOR EDITORS

1 - Going for Green is a charity and a sister body of Tidy Northern Ireland.

2 - The Green Code Programme is a sustainable development education project for young people aged 5-16 which is funded from the Landfill Tax rebate in partnership with Tesco and Biffa Waste Services.

3 - The Programme is almost entirely computer-based and centres around three CD-ROMs which are interactive, fun-to-use and humorous, but which deliver a serious message. They are free of charge to schools.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION please contact the Press Office at the Department of Education on 01247-259356