Celebrating the Future of Planet

By AMY HUNT

PEOPLE in the North East will be asked to think global but act local this Thursday, World Environment Day.

The international occasion will be marked on Tyneside by a series of events aimed at bringing the issue of climate change home and showing how folk in the region can make a real difference.

In Newcastle, the City Council and the Environment Agency have teamed up for the third year running to organise a fair at the Monument, which has now become a World Environment Day staple.

More than 20 organisations will be giving away free advice and environmental goodies, from 10am to 5pm.

Information will be available about how to green your lifestyle, with street entertainment and local food also on offer.

The Environment Agency has also organised free screenings of the film Flood, starring Robert Carlyle, in the Swan Parson Room of Newcastle Civic Centre.

Call (0191) 203 4138 to reserve a place.

In Gateshead, the council has organised a World Environment Day fair in the Civic Centre on Thursday, featuring stalls from local organisations.

And North Tyneside Council has also organised an event for tomorrow, in the Rising Sun Country Park from 11am to 3.30pm.

It will start with a carnival procession into the park by pupils from Coquet Park, Appletree Gardens, Marine Park and Rockliffe First schools as well as Whitley Bay High School, all wearing costumes made from recycled materials.

At the park there will be a performance by Waldo the Wonderdog, North Tyneside Council’s environmental mascot, as well as various information stands and displays.

As part of the Environment Week celebrations in South Tyneside, the council is aiming to encourage local residents to be more environmentally-friendly in their daily lives while showcasing the initiatives taking place across the borough to help save the environment.

Council teams have been working this week to remove graffiti, chewing gum and rubbish from streets, giving out "stubbies" to smokers and cracking down on litterbugs.

Residents who recycle in Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland during the week are also in with a chance of winning pounds 100 worth of high street shopping vouchers as councils select winners at random from the kerbside recycling scheme, household recycling centres and from homes.

World Environment Day was started by the UN in 1972 as a way of motivating people to help protect and conserve the environment for future generations.

Every year has a theme, which for 2008 is Adapting to Climate Change, and a host city – this year’s is Wellington in New Zealand.

(c) 2008 Evening Chronicle – Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.