Belfast Healthy Cities

Children care about their environment and community, and many care deeply about their local neighbourhood. The environment children grow up in also shapes their habits, attitudes and social relationships, which affects their health and lifestyle choices later in life. Healthy Places, Healthy Children aims to give children an opportunity to share their views and ideas for their local neighbourhood. It is a teaching resource designed to support the delivery of the NI Curriculum particularly in relation to teaching concepts such as place and planning, but above all it aims to provide children with an opportunity to research their local environment and develop ideas and proposals for how to make it more child friendly. To date the project has now been completed by 10 primary schools across the Greater Belfast area, with class sizes of around 30 students on average.

While the projects have been developed and delivered by key stage 2 (ages 8-11) classes, the whole school community will benefit from the projects and in some schools the project has resulted in each class year receiving their own planting box, a school gardening club and ongoing maintenance jobs for each year group. The schools have planted blubs, trees, and fruits, bought outdoor games for use during lunch breaks, installed mud kitchens, added outdoor seating, purchased cycling and scooter storage units, and improved green spaces around the school for more outdoor learning, relaxation and play. Each school has also developed their own Community Charters as a call for action that each child has the right to green spaces, time outdoors and healthy environments, to name a few.