Litter picking youngsters rewarded with a pool party!

Pupils from Langley First School in Whitley Bay completed a three-hour long litter pick this week, led by inspirational classmate Izzy.

Eight-year-old Izzy is the eco-warrior for her class and is obsessed with saving the planet. After learning about ways to protect the planet in school, Izzy decided to lead her class in a litter pick of the streets and coast of Whitley Bay.

After hearing about Izzy’s plans, staff at Waves Leisure Centre worked with the school to organise the litter pick and decided to reward Izzy and the class with a pool party.

In just three hours, Izzy, her classmates and colleagues from North Tyneside’s Sports and Leisure Team worked together to collect an amazing 20 bags of rubbish.

Izzy’s proud mam Nicola said: “Izzy has got the bug for saving the planet, so much so that she asked Santa for her own litter picker last Christmas!

“I‘m really chuffed Waves has been able to support Izzy’s idea! She’s gone from spending her mornings, when we thought she was asleep, producing an amazing poster about saving the planet to having brought together a team of people to make an improvement to the local community, it’s just fab!”

Izzy’s inspiration came from her lessons at school where her class have been working on topics such as how to reduce, reuse and recycle in order to make a difference. The class even had a visit from a local author who published a book, produced from recycled materials, all about recycling.

Mr Massey, Izzy’s proud teacher, said: “At Langley First School, we build a curriculum that is driven by our core values of respect, responsibility and resilience. We strive for our children to develop into proud and caring members of our community, so to see how passionate the children have been during our plastic pollution topic has been deeply empowering.

“The children have learned that they can make a difference, and many have undertaken their own independent projects to help the world after being inspired by the stories of others. It feels great to see them join with the local community to share their desire to care for the environment together.”

Councillor Sandra Graham, Cabinet Member for Environment at North Tyneside Council, said: “Izzy and her class at Langley First School are an inspiration to us all and we really appreciate their fantastic effort to keep our beautiful coast litter-free.

“It’s great to see the younger generation embracing all things green and working hard to save our planet. I am sure they’ll enjoy their pool party, and we look forward to continuing to work with local schools and pupils to address the climate emergency.”

North Tyneside Council provided the equipment for Izzy’s class and its extremely grateful environment team then collected the rubbish from Waves.

Izzy and her class will be rewarded for their good deed on Saturday with a pool party at Waves. To make the party extra special, the water in the pool will be turned green in recognition of the environment, a hard day’s work and an inspirational deed from a year three pupil.