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Date: 22 Feb 2023
Belfast City Council is enlisting the help of primary school pupils to encourage dog owners to scoop the poop.
Schools are being invited to take part in 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.
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.
“Recently we’ve been contacted by a number of schools that have said dog fouling is a problem in their area; 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. Schools interested in taking part should email environmentaloutreach@belfastcity.gov.uk and 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.
Closing date for entries is Friday 21 April and winners will be announced in May.
“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.
For more information, visit www.belfastcity.gov.uk/dogfouling