London,
10
June
2009
|
23:00
Europe/London

BeRecreative, recycling fun in the park

More than 2,000 people turned out to enjoy a range of fun activities at the BeRecreative event in London Fields, while finding out more about doing their bit to help the environment.

The free family event on Saturday, 6 June, was a joint effort between Hackney Council’s recycling team and Green Champion network, and was held as part of the Love London Green Festival.

There were more than 20 different stalls at the fourth annual BeRecreative event. Visitors enjoyed making hats from recycled materials, creating their own organic drinks with the smoothie bike, and getting involved with various ‘green games’.

The ‘give or take’ area, where residents could bring unwanted items and swap them for others, proved a popular stall, with items from books to bikes being exchanged.

There was plenty for youngsters as well, with R-art sustainable art making for children and the Taru Brazil drum band. The bouncy castle and face painter were also kept busy throughout the day.

Councillor Alan Laing, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said:
“The BeRecreative event is a fun way for everyone to see how their contributions can help to reuse, recycle and reduce waste in Hackney. Recycling is a priority for the Council. I’m delighted that so many residents continue to support our efforts to improve our local environment and help make the borough cleaner and greener.”

The day was a huge success with lots of fun activities for the whole family to find out about recycling more of their household and doing their bit to help the environment.

The Council’s recycling team with volunteers from the Green Champions network offered recycling tips and advice while handing out hundreds of reusable cotton shopping bags to help residents cut down on plastic bag use.

The Bike Doctor was on hand with advice for cyclists on maintaining their bicycles. And the Compost Doctor gave advice on home composting.

The Green Champions also ran stalls with information on creating biocultures, food mile awareness and making own cosmetics from organic material.

Green Champions volunteer, Paulina Filippou, said: "BeRecreative 09 was a big success this year. It s great to see how this annual event has developed over the years. There were lots of stalls providing a wealth of information on green issues for adults and lots of educational activities for children. Also, the local bands that provided entertainment throughout the day were amazing! It s so rewarding seeing the local community getting together for such a good cause."