News
Child Safety Day at Oxgangs
16 Jul 2009
Child Safety Day at Oxgangs Police Station
Primary 2 children in Oxgangs could be forgiven for smelling a rat at the Oxgangs Police Station on 17 June. But this rat was all part of the fun. Shrieks turned to giggles as the stuffed rat helped Senior Education Officer Lindsay Grant teach the pupils about the consequences of litter and dog fouling to wildlife, the environment and humans.
Organised by the Lothian and Borders Police Community Beat Officers, the annual Child Safety Day at Oxgangs Police Station is now in its 16th year. Local primary schools are invited along to learn about safety in the home, at school and when outside. Partners from the Fire and Rescue Service, British Army, British Transport and the Health and Safety Executive gave safety presentations and handed out goodie bags.
Oxgangs Primary School were awarded a prize for collecting the most rubbish during the litter picks featured in the recent Oxgangs Week of Action. The school was presented with a shopping voucher from Morrisons, who sponsor the litter picks along with Tesco.
Councillor Aitken accepted a cheque for £150 on behalf of the Community Safety Team from Sandy Dougal, the Sales Manager of the new Edinburgh Audi car showroom. The generous donation will pay for 40 high visibility tabards for future litter pickers to wear for extra safety.
Veronica Wright, South West Community Safety Manager said:
"This is the way forward - partnerships between private businesses and public agencies. We are all trying to involve young people and emphasise the importance of belonging and being responsible for the areas they live in.
"We want it to be fun and memorable and for the young people to go forward understanding the message of the impact of dropping litter and making their area cleaner and greener."
