Alannah, Emily and Callum from Chapel Rd among top designers

Chapel Road Primary School pupils, Alannah Kelly, Emily Armstrong and Callum Downey pictured receiving the Schools Recycling competition prize from DCSDC Director of Legacy, Oonagh McGillion. Included are Shelly McElhinney, teacher, Ruth van Ry, EcoSchools, Elsa Edwards, DCSDC and Joe Brolly, 4r's Recycling. PIcture Martin McKeown. Inpresspics.com.

Ms McGillion extended her congratulations to the winners saying the competition was a great way of engaging with young people and getting them interested in the STEM subjects.

“The aim of our Science and Innovation Programme is to enthuse our children, develop their awareness of the vast potential of STEM subjects and support our educators and business people to develop a positive environment in which STEM can flourish. “One of the key tools are our disposal is to engage children and young people in exciting competitions which will develop their skills, increase their knowledge and grow their interest in the world of industry,” said Ms McGillion.

“This competition was developed specifically for primary school children involving recycling, maths and lots of fun.

“We acknowledge that this is a critical period for encouraging children to explore and begin to understand the world around them especially in terms of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths,” she said.

Elsa Edwards, legacy officer with Derry City and Strabane District Council, explained that a key element of the competition was direct engagement with the schools when representatives from 4rs Recycling visited schools to talk to teachers and answer any questions in relation to the competition.

“The event is linked up to our involvement in Earth Day 2016 and the work we are doing to promote the green message to schools and encourage pupils to be aware of their local environment and work on projects that promote a healthy green school environment to study, learn and grow.”

The Primary school winners of the Wood Recycling competition, organised as part of Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Year of Science and Innovation, were presented with their prizes by the Mayor.

The pupils had been invited to design a recycled wood installation for their school garden/playground and be in with a chance of having it commissioned by 4rs Recycling and installed in their school.

Schools were invited to choose from a number of categories incorporating the practice of STEM Subjects including art installation, Garden Furniture, or Nature and Play themes

Among the winning entries were Sion Mills P.S; St. Paul’s P.S and Chapel Road P.S, while the Participation Awards were secured by the Good Shepherd PS, St. Patrick’s PS, Cumber Claudy PS, Oakgrove Integrated PS and Drumahoe PS.

Ms Edwards extended her thanks to Joe Brolly from 4rs Recycling who will be commissioning the winners projects and Ruth Van Ry from NI Eco Schools, as well as JP Corry who are donating the wood for the winners projects and Piece Maker who designed the awards.

The winning schools will now also attend workshops at 4rs Recycling and it is hoped that the three winners’ designs will be installed by the end of May.