They helped to make their neighbourhood a cleaner, safer and nicer place to live, having lots of fun along the way.
The junior wardens are all aged between eight and eleven and their first task was to choose their own uniform, with a Junior Warden logo on the front and back, making them easy to recognise and approachable.
The youngsters have been patrolling with the community wardens, seeing at first hand the problems caused by vandalism, abandoned cars and fly-tipping and understanding how these effect their own neighbourhood.The young wardens have rolled up their sleeves and taken part in litter picks, finding out how hard it is to remove graffiti and clear up rubbish.
It hasn’t all been hard work.The junior wardens built their own den out of recycled material at the Eden Project, were given a tour of St Austell Police Station and took part in a drill with firefighters.
Fire Fighter Keith Coles, the Community Fire Safety Officer, said it was a pleasure having a new group of children visit the station:“They have taken away with them some fire safety advice, that as junior wardens they will be able to share with their families and other children in the community.Today we involved them in a team building game and talked about house fires and how quickly they develop.We then took them on a drill, guiding them through a darkened building, enabling them to experience it both from the point of view of the Fire Fighters as well the people trapped in the building.”
Junior Warden Cameron said they learnt a lot: “It was fantastic.I was the leader through the darkened building and learnt what it is like to be a fire fighter working without light and how scary it would be if you were trapped in your home because of a fire. ”
To round up the summer’s activities, the last adventure was at the Flashpoint Safety Centre, where the junior wardens got to grips with health and safety in every day situations.The Centre has mock ups of potential hazards and the team had fun learning how to prevent accidents in their home and neighbourhood.
Community Warden Michael Brayne said the project was very worthwhile: “We have had a great response from the children and they have been very willing to learn and listen.We also appreciate the involvement of other local services in the community who have helped to make it so successful.”
Ocean’s Head of Tenant Involvement, Mike Elliott, believes it has been a real eye opener:“The young wardens have experienced for themselves what happens to their neighbourhood when people are careless and how long it takes to clear up the mess.It’s made quite an impression on them and I am confident that they won’t forget what they have learnt in a hurry.”
