Belfast City Council is enlisting the help of primary school pupils to encourage dog owners to clean up after their pets.
Schools are being invited to take part in the council’s ‘Billboard Challenge’ to highlight the issue of dog fouling in their communities. Pupils are being asked to design their own poster and four will be chosen to be displayed on billboards across Belfast.
More recently the council has been contacted by a number of schools to report dog fouling as an issue in their area.
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Councillor Mickey Murray, chair of Belfast City Council’s People and Communities Committee, said: "As councillors, we know first hand that dog fouling is a blight on communities across the city and it’s something constituents feel very strongly about.
"Council works hard to encourage responsible dog ownership through our education and enforcement work, but sadly there are still too many owners who think it’s acceptable to leave their dog’s mess for someone else to clean up.
"It’s disgusting that children are having to navigate dog poo when they’re walking or cycling to school. We wanted to give young people the opportunity to have their voices heard and highlight the issue in a creative way - and some lucky pupils will get to see their billboards on display in their local neighbourhood."
The Billboard Challenge is open to pupils in P5-P7 and any schools interested in taking part should email environmentaloutreach@belfastcity.gov.uk. The council will arrange a visit to the school, provide all the materials needed to produce their billboard and deliver a curriculum-linked workshop for pupils.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing some of the entries; this is a really important issue for council and I hope that lots of schools will sign up to the challenge,” Councillor Murray added.
Closing date for entries is Friday April 21 and winners will be announced in May. For more information, visit here.
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