Childrens artwork will be used to raise awareness
By Aideen O'Flaherty
ARTWORK created by local schoolchildren that brings awareness to environmental issues, including dog fouling, littering, and graffiti, will be used by South Dublin County Council on posters in the New Year.
The local authority’s decision to hold an environment-themed poster competition next year has been welcomed by Social Democrat councillor Carly Bailey.
One of the anti-dog fouling posters hung up by schoolchildren in Firhouse
As previously reported in The Echo, schoolchildren in Firhouse created their own anti-dog fouling posters which were laminated and hung up around the area by parent Ciara Forrester, however they were removed shortly afterwards and it is unclear who took them down.
This prompted Cllr Bailey to table a motion at an area committee meeting on Tuesday, asking the council to pilot a scheme “which will turn children’s art that depict anti-dog fouling messaging into official posters that can be put up in an area”.
Cllr Bailey told The Echo: “I think there was agreement across the board that engagement like this is important.
“It’s always a good thing if children feel invested in their own community, and it’s really important for young people to feel empowered in their own community.
“And this will go further than the children, because they’ll engage their families and the wider community to have that discussion about the issue with dog fouling.”
Cllr Bailey’s motion was carried, and the council confirmed that they have plans to roll out the poster competition next January.
In a statement made at the meeting, a council spokesperson said: “The Environmental Awareness Office runs an annual poster competition where students are asked to design an environmental themed poster and slogan.
“Every year the winning entries are printed up professionally and distributed to schools and libraries throughout the county.
“The winning entries are also made into anti-dog fouling, anti-litter and anti-graffiti signs which are used throughout the county to deter these activities.
“The next competition is due to be run in January 2021.”
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