HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
AGENDA 21 PANEL ITEM 8
30 OCTOBER 1996
ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS
REPORT OF THE COUNTY EDUCATION OFFICER
Contact: Ian Lawson, Principal Sites Officer (01962 846350)
INTRODUCTION
1. At the Panel meeting on 28 June 1995, service committees were
invited to consider the potential for raising public awareness
of environmental issues through existing and proposed areas of
service delivery. Reports have now been considered by the main
committees and the conclusions are summarised in the following
paragraphs. The full reports are available on Hantsnet.
PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMITTEE (13 September 1995)
2. Covering the fields of Emergency Planning, Trading Standards,
the Scientific Service, Waste Management and the Fire and Rescue
Service the committee concluded that:
(a) There is ample scope for the County Council and its Members
and Officers - both individually and collectively - to set
good examples to the public of all ages in many areas -for
example in the avoidance and minimisation of waste and
promotion of recycling.
(b) Consultations on the document "Dealing with Hampshire's
Waste - the Proposed Solution" would provide a potent means
of getting messages across to the public on the
environmental effects of a consumer lifestyle - for
instance joint initiatives to reduce unnecessary and
wasteful packaging.
(c) Individual publicity campaigns can be undertaken in
conjunction with enforcement activities, for instance in
areas of Trading Standards and fire prevention.
(d) The provision of research and information on the
environmental impact of specific substances and materials,
for example aerosols, solvents and CFCs.
(e) New initiatives, for instance working jointly with the
recycling centres to promote the safe disposal of
refrigerators.
RECREATION COMMITTEE (21 September 1995)
3. The committee reviewed its activities by service and commented:
HAMPSHIRE RECORD OFFICE
Environmental awareness is closely linked with pride and
interest in place of residence for which the Hampshire Record
Office has a significant part to play by enabling people to
appreciate how their immediate environment has been formed. As
well as developing existing outreach work through open days,
talks and publications, there is scope to mount small
exhibitions on sources for understanding the environment.
COUNTY ARTS OFFICE
County Council arts centres and the Youth Arts project provide
scope for developing activities to raise awareness, through
exhibitions and workshops. This could be extended into those
areas where the committee supports independent arts
organisations, which could be invited to mount suitable projects
in many media, including theatrical performance, exhibitions by
contemporary artists, touring companies in schools, music and
dance.
LIBRARY SERVICE
Providing a wide range of books on all aspects of the
environment, the library service is an excellent source of
information about the local environment. Booklists are available
and more detailed listings on request. Holiday activities for
children, run in conjunction with organisations such as Marwell
Zoo and Animal Watch, often have an environmental theme.
Information on environmental matters is provided to Members and
other County Council departments and, in addition to the
libraries themselves, to the public through the growing number
of Local Information Points.
MUSEUMS SERVICE
The Museums service works towards increasing knowledge,
preservation and enjoyment of the environment. The Museums
Service maintains collections representing the biology, geology
and human history of Hampshire which are important source
materials used for research and study at all levels.
Developments to increase awareness include improving access to
collections and information (all available collection records
have recently been placed on the World Wide Web), improving
interpretation and education (e.g. through the specialised
natural science "hands-on" schools education facility, SEARCH,
at Gosport), encouraging community use of museums and extensive
working with kindred organisations outside the county council.
COUNTRYSIDE AND COMMUNITY
The Department is heavily involved in providing information for
the public and in raising awareness of environmental and
conservation issues though activities such as the management of
country parks; provision of interpretative information at
outdoor sites; educational work for schools, young people and
specialist groups; promoting activities including guided walks
and bike rides: providing examples of good practice in
conservation management and the involvement of local
communities. Further scope is available through developing links
between outdoor centres and the countryside, further promotion
of cycling, working more closely with tour operators to promote
"green tourism", maximising the opportunity to communicate with
the public through service delivery points and making greater
use of links with communities.
PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
(Finance and General Purposes Sub-Committee, 29 September 1995)
4. The committee resolved to inform the Agenda 21 Panel that it:
(i) agrees that the key to achieving higher environmental
standards in future is to bring about changes in attitudes,
behaviour and lifestyles through enhanced environmental
awareness;
(ii) welcomes the stimulus to reinforce the importance of
environmental awareness as an essential aspect of the
Committee's work and agrees that a co-ordinated approach
across service areas, targeted particularly at children and
young people, has the maximum potential for benefit; and
(iii)currently supports several projects which are consistent
with the recommendations of the Panel and will make further
proposals in due course to extend the number and breadth of
environmental awareness initiatives.
The work of the County Planning and County Surveyor's
Departments has a wide range of direct implications for
environmental awareness. This involves the mainstream work of
the two departments and the links with a number of outside
agencies, many of them in the voluntary sector, directly
involved in promotional activity about environmental issues.
Increasingly the achievement of many planning, transportation
and waste disposal policies requires wider awareness and
personal ownership and responsibility for environmental problems
and solutions. This has already resulted in several campaigns
such as Headstart and Wasteline to raise awareness about
transport and waste. In future, environmental awareness
activities of this nature will increase in importance and scope.
EDUCATION COMMITTEE (21 November 1996)
5. The committee identified areas where environmental awareness
already forms part of the strategy for service delivery and
where opportunities exist for future action. The following
examples were given:
Part of the work of all pupils in all four Key Stages of the
National Curriculum, there is a particular emphasis in Science
and Geography, where field study visits are a requirement of
many syllabuses. Informal awareness raising takes place through
school clubs and societies and in the use of school sites
themselves. Participation in "Learning Through Landscapes"
activities can involve parents, teachers, children and members
of the community working together to improve sites for future
generations.
Through its Environmental Study Centres, the committee provides
opportunities for children to experience and study natural and
man made environments.
Members of the Hampshire Inspection and Advisory Support Service
are involved in collaborative ventures with other departments to
produce material for use in schools to raise environmental
awareness, including topics such as Waste Management, Road
Safety, Hampshire 2011, the Management of School Grounds and the
Headstart traffic campaign.
In 1994 the Hampshire Youth Service appointed the County's first
environmental youth worker and has established the first
environmental youth centre in the south of England. This aims to
work through environmental issues to build relationships with
young people and enable them to formulate their own informed
views. The Youth Service also supports the development of Youth
Parish Councils, which are well placed to consider local
environmental issues.
The Education Department issues regular newsletters to staff and
schools and the opportunity will be taken to include articles
aimed at raising awareness of environmental issues.
SOCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE (22 March 1996)
6. The committee identified several developments within their
service relating to environmental issues where the opportunity
is presented to raise awareness of staff, clients and members of
the public through promoting good practice, including:
* Energy conservation
* Office management
* Medical waste disposal
* Purchasing arrangements
* Fuel for vehicles
* Waste recycling
FUTURE ACTON
7. Since many of these reports were prepared there have been
changes in departmental and committee responsibilities and
activities as a result of restructuring. Environmental awareness
as a national issue has also been given substantial impetus
through the joint activities of the Secretaries of State for the
Environment and Education and Employment, who have sponsored
three major pieces of work to provide a framework and guidance
for the enhanced delivery of environmental education. These
initiatives and the new County Council structure, combined with
the wide range of existing activity, provide several
opportunities for further expansion of environmental awareness
activity and added impetus for a co-ordinated corporate
approach.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. That service committees be commended for the work they are doing
to raise environmental awareness and encouraged to extend this
further as service developments take place.
2. That officers continue to explore opportunities for a
co-ordinated corporate approach to raising environmental
awareness across services, in conjunction with the proposed
environmental management plan.
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