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Stowmarket's first Go Green Go Wild day 'fantastic'

Shannon EustaceBBC News, Suffolk
News imageNadia Eustace Children learning about insects at Our Animal WorldNadia Eustace
Laura Jackson said Our Animal World aims to teach children about wildlife and conservation

An environmental-themed family fun day had a great turn out of local families.

Stowmarket Town Council held its first Go Green Go Wild event on Tuesday, which aimed to educate young people about the value of wildlife.

The event promoted a range of environmental causes, had interactive activities and a mini fairground.

The council's communications and marketing officer, Summer Lambert, said the collaborative effort from organisations was "fantastic".

News imageNAdia Eustace Children learning about compost at Suffolk RecyclingNAdia Eustace
Master composters at Suffolk Recycling taught children how to compost at home, and what insects they could find in their compost bins

Samantha Oldfield, waste education office for Babergh and Mid Suffolk district councils, attended the event with Suffolk Recycling.

Their stall allowed children to get creative with Halloween lantern making, practise recycling at a make-shift sorting point, and learn about composting at home.

She believed more needed to be done in schools to educate young people on the environment, and hoped children attending the event would "realise that to be eco-conscious and to think green is really fun and exciting".

News imageShannon Eustace/BBC Sarah Bullen from Still Good FoodShannon Eustace/BBC
Sarah Bullen from Still Good Food was hoping to raise awareness about the the impact of food waste, and how we can help reduce the amount of food that goes to landfill

Other stalls included the National Literacy Trust, which gave out free environmental-themed books, and Still Good Food, which promoted the importance of reducing food waste.

Laura Jackson, owner of Our Animal World, brought her educational mobile zoo to the town, allowing children and adults alike to get up close and personal with invertebrates.

"Getting children interested in a whole variety of insects leads on to conservation," she said.

News imageShannon Eustace/BBC Stalls and attendees at Go Green Go WildShannon Eustace/BBC
Stowmarket Town Council said it was "excited" to launch their first environmental event

Ms Jackson said she hoped the event would give children "a love of animals, a love of nature, and an idea to protect it".

In previous years, the town council has crated 100 habitats around Stowmarket to enhance and encourage biodiversity.

This year, Go Green Go Wild saw the council hand out free bird boxes.

Rosie Phoenix, community engagement and events officer, said: "We thought it would be really nice to give the families a chance to put it in their own gardens."

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