St Michael’s Church of England Primary School children joined forces with Durham County Council’s Civic Pride team to encourage dog owners to clean up after their dog.
After their educational assembly – and meeting the council’s anti-dog fouling mascot Scoop the dog – students undertook a ‘dog foul mapping exercise’ on a 200m stretch of footpath and on the school’s playing field.
Any piece of dog foul found by the pupils had a ’dog alert’ flag placed next to it by a representative from Bishop Middleham and Mainsforth Town Council before it was cleaned up.
Students also designed an anti-dog fouling poster in which the winning design was made into a dog bin sticker. The sticker is now attached to the waste bins in the area.
Pauline Walker, Durham County Council’s senior civic pride officer, said: “We wanted to get the children involved and help us spread the message to people about responsible dog ownership. If people see children are making the effort to keep the streets clean, then hopefully it will encourage them to do the same.”
Members of the public can report dog fouling online 24/7 at www.durham.gov.uk/dogfouling or by calling 03000 261 000 during office hours.
To sign up to become a responsible dog owner, download a form at www.durham.gov.uk/greendogwalkers or email your details to civicpride@durham.gov.uk.
The education visit forms part of Durham County Council Civic Pride team’s role, which is to promote environmental responsibility to make County Durham a cleaner and greener place to live, work or visit.
Residents can also get involved in environmental schemes in their area by visiting