Shipley and St Leonard’s Cub Scouts launch new national eco initiative

The Environmental Conservation Activity badge is now sponsored by the Salvation Army’s Recycle with Michael scheme, which encourages young people to donate their unwanted clothing to those in need.

To earn the badge, Cubs must undertake a range of activities designed to teach them environmental skills and knowledge, including recycling and energy conservation.

To celebrate the launch of the new badge, the 1st Shipley and 1st St Leonard’s packs joined Cubs from Chingford last month for a day of environmental activities at Gilwell Park in Essex, the home of UK Scouting.

1st Shipley chairman Peter Sutton spoke of his pride in having his Cubs represent the organisation at the event: “It was a real honour for them to be asked to represent the more than 140,000 members of the UK Cub Scout movement, and they certainly did their fellow Cubs proud on the day.

“They will take the knowledge and experience gained here into their daily lives, and no doubt it will have a positive effect not only on our local area but also the wider environment. Every one of them has earned that badge today.”

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The main event of the day saw the 50-strong group of Cubs team up with artists Lloyd Warbey – of Disney’s Art Attack – and Suzanne Lynas to create a large-scale representation of the badge from donated garments.

The process of creating the 2,600 sq ft replica involved arranging items of red, white and yellow clothing, and took more than five hours to complete.

The huge piece of art was then captured from the air using drone photography, before being dismantled and the clothes shipped off to the Salvation Army’s sorting office where they will be either recycled or distributed to the charity’s shops for a second lease of life.

The Cubs spent the remainder of the day engaged in a range of talks and activities, where they learned how to recycle, plant trees, and conserve water.

At the end of the day the Cubs were all rewarded for their achievements by becoming the first recipients of the brand-new Environmental Conservation Activity badge.

The Salvation Army hopes that Recycle with Michael’s sponsoring of the badge will help to encourage young people to not only support the initiative by recycling and donating clothing, but also to get more involved in the environment and conservation.

Kirk Bradley, head of corporate partnerships at The Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd, commented: “Today we live in a throw-away world where cheap ‘disposable’ fashion, plastic, excessive food waste, and packaging is destroying our planet on a daily basis.

“If the Cub Scout movement can engage our children in conservation efforts, and they then in turn encourage parents, siblings and peers to make just small adjustments to their daily lives, we are at least on the pathway to change.”

All primary school age children can get involved with the Recycle with Michael initiative.

To find out more about the scheme, visit www.recyclewithmichael.co.uk

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