Compost ambassadors win prize

3:53pm Sunday 6th July 2008

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WILTSHIRE'S compost ambassadors took to the streets last Saturday to spread the message that composting is good for the planet - and won a prize for their efforts.

Five Wiltshire Wildlife Trust compost ambassadors and a dozen children from the Trust's Calne Watch group took part in the Calne carnival and ended up lifting the silver cup for Best Entry Overall.

Dressed in costumes made by the children from recycled materials bought from the Scrapstore near Lacock, and compost bags supplied by Hills Group, the participants spelt out, literally in large letters, the message that for the sake of the environment itís better to compost your garden waste and kitchen peelings than to bin it.

"We sat down with the children one Saturday afternoon to make all the costumes, and chose sun headdresses because compost needs heat to work,î explains Rosemary Coomes, one of Calne Watch leaders and also a compost ambassador for the area.

"The children all made compost minibeasts out of the materials and dangled them from their canes Two of us attended a carnival workshop in Devizes to learn how to make the decorated ëbackpacksí and we all stopped at every opportunity to yell out the word compost at the audience. Evidently, it was all a great success."

Camilla Timms, one of the Salisbury area compost ambassadors, says: "It was a great opportunity to promote composting to a big audience in a really fun way. I laughed non-stop and really enjoyed it."

The group hopes to repeat its success in the Devizes carnival at the end of August.

The compost ambassadors are a friendly team of 96 members covering the whole county, who have been trained up by the Trust to go out and persuade Wiltshireís residents to compost, rather than bin, much of their kitchen and garden rubbish, and to also offer practical advice and hands on help.

If you want to speak to someone about any composting problems you may have, please contact the Trust's Waste Minimisation Officer Sara Cundy on (01380) 725670 ext 235, who will be able to put you in touch with your local ambassador.

Wildlife Watch is the junior branch of the Trust and is the UK's leading action club for young environmentalists. There are several branches around Wiltshire and the average age range of members is 8 to 12 years old.

Junior members have the opportunity to collect badges in recognition of their involvement with the group and are rewarded with a Gold Award Badge once they've collected eight badges. Watch groups are run by willing and enthusiastic volunteers who organise the environmental activities.

If you are interested in joining or running a group please contact Sarah Wood, Wildlife Watch Coordinator at the Trust on 01380 725670 ext 272.