Talented schoolchildren with a passion for art and the environment have joined forces with Northern Rail and the Metro newspaper to tackle waste at railway stations, by surveying commuters’ opinions on litter and recycling, and taking part in a poster competition.

The youngsters from Years Five and Six at Temple Primary School in Cheetham Hill, Manchester, were inspired to create their posters after speaking with passengers at Manchester Victoria Station about litter, newspapers and recycling bins.

The winning poster, designed by budding environmentalist, Hafsa Mohammed, aged nine, is now set to be displayed in Northern stations across the network to encourage commuters to get on board with recycling.

Lee Wasnidge, Area Director, Northern said: “We work hard to provide our passengers with a clean and tidy train and station environment but one of the biggest sources of litter is newspapers, often left behind after the morning commute. As a business we are dedicated to doing all we can to encourage recycling wherever possible and make a positive difference.

“We’ve been really impressed by these talented youngsters who have shown a real interest in the environment combined with an artistic flair.  The posters they’ve created are vibrant and colourful, making them really eye-catching for passengers. They’ve also managed to get across a serious message about recycling in a lighthearted way - which should put a smile on everyone’s face.” 

Kanwal Naqvi, aged nine and Aisha Moshin, also aged nine, were named as runners-up in the poster competition. As a reward for their hard work, all the artistic youngsters scooped a selection of prizes.

The children spent two hours at Manchester Victoria on 8 December under the close supervision of Northern Rail, and Urban Mines – an environmental consultancy and charity - asking commuters a range of questions about recycling and the environment.

Laura Burton, Eco-coordinator at Temple Primary School said: “The children have been really passionate and excited about the project and it’s great to see that the things they have worked so hard for inside the school are being extended to other areas of the community.  I’m very proud of them.”

Sharon Clarke of Urban Mines said: “It has been a pleasure to work with such a group of enthusiastic and knowledgeable children. The children have benefited from learning about newspaper recycling, carrying out a survey and producing artwork for posters.  The posters show passengers how to recycle newspapers and the results from the survey demonstrated a real need.”

The results revealed more than 50 per cent of passengers read free newspapers and just under 50 per cent left them on the train or at the station. But, alongside this, the survey also revealed the vast majority would recycle their newspapers if facilities were provided – and this has now been done with recycling bins available on platforms 4 and 5 at Manchester Victoria station.

Ben King, Regional Operations Manager, Metro, said: “It is very important for Metro to be involved in 'green' projects such as this. We strive to be recognised as a leader on green issues and whilst we appreciate that the increasing demand for Metro means there is also a growing demand to recycle, we want to be very much a part of the solution rather than the problem. It is partnerships like this that will help us to achieve our goals and we are delighted to be working with Northern Rail and look forward to working closely with them in the future. I would also like to congratulate the pupils of Temple School on a fantastic job; I am sure the posters will have a positive effect with our readers."

Temple Primary School has been an Eco School for almost three years and is ranked by Keep Britain Tidy, which runs the international eco award scheme in the UK.

Nicola Peate from Keep Britain Tidy said: “We would like to say a huge congratulations to Hafsa for designing such a fantastic poster with a great message.

"The fact that Northern Rail and the Metro are joining forces in a campaign that gets children so actively involved in caring for their environment is fantastic.  Hopefully the posters will have a really positive impact at train stations and newspapers will be recycled, not strewn all over the carriages.”