Walks In Caithness 

Litter affects us all and comes in all forms from dog waste to car wrecks.  Driving through the country road it is difficult to miss evidence of fly tipping (old cookers, washing machines, fridge's etc). Old bottles scattered along the ditches, carrier bags caught on hedges flapping in the wind, old chip wrappers/polystyrene lying the list goes on and on and on.

The litter is undoubtedly unsightly and gives visitors to the area a negative impression about the county. More importantly the litter is dangerous.  Dangerous to ourselves, to farm animals, to pets and to wildlife in general. A child cutting themselves on a broken bottle, a cow choking on a plastic carrier bag, a shrew drowning in old bottles - all common occurrences.

Litter problems around country roads were highlighted further with recent articles in the Groat.  The severity of the litter problem was discussed by the Caithness and Sutherland Environmental Group (CASEG) and the general feeling was something has to be done. For this reason, the group, with assistance from the National Farmers Union and the Highland Council Ranger Service promoted a local litter campaign which invited local primary schools to get involved.  There were 2 competitions; one of the entire school to get involved and one for individuals.

Dunbeath primary and Bower primary school tied for 1st place and were awarded a prize of £60 each. Thrumster Primary and Reay school tied for second place and won a prize of £30.  All schools participated in various recycling projects such as collection on Al cans, plastic rings, composting, and took part in many activities which reduced litter and waste around the school.

Some of the projects carried out by the winning schools:

Dunbeath primary:

Small school with only 22 pupils - no janitor so children carry out regular litter picks and keep the school grounds tidy.
Wednesdays - Technology Club where boxes, cartons, tubes, bottles are collected and used in model making.
Co-ordinated collection of old text books, sent to Books Abroad where the books are distributed to developing countries all over the world.
Collected over 4000 Al cans for recycling
Future: Plan to build compost heaps for next year

Bower Primary:

Collect Al cans & glass bottles for recycling Laminate worksheets to reuse and reduce photocopying Recycle garden and kitchen waste by using compost bin and making bird cake to feed garden birds Donated old tables to people in the community instead of sending then to the dump.
Use second hand musical instruments

Future: organise 'hand-me-down' service for school jumpers which pupils have grown out of.

Individual poster competition received a total of 181 entries, making judging very difficult. The judges were very impressed by the quality and thought of the posters.

Under 8's -
1st - Craig Oag from Thrumster Primary won £25 book tokens
2nd - Lisa Simpson from Lybster Primary won £15 book tokens
3rd - Ashley Lawrence from Bower Primary won £7.50 book tokens

Under 12's -
1st - Nicola Oag from Thrumster Primary won £25 book tokens
2nd - Mark Forsyth from Miller Academy won £15 book tokens
3rd - Erica Sinclair from Miller Academy and Amy Mackay from

Poster Winners brother and sister
Craig Oag (u 8 winner) and Nicola Oag (under 12 winner).
Ranger CASEG Litter Campaign

Pultneytown Academy both tied for 3rd place and won £7.50 book tokens

Prizes will be presented at the County Show at the National Farmers Union tent where the winning posters will be on display.