13th April 2007

Nearly 200 Street Champions gathered to celebrate their successes over the last year and look to the future when they met at their annual conference at the Birmingham Council House on March 1st.

The Street Champions, all local residents wanting to make a difference to their own street and wider local environment, heard inspring talks from the Lord Mayor, scheme co-ordinators and Champions of all ages about the achievements of the past year.  These include reaching a total of over 700 Champions across Birmingham, and the delivery of activities including tree planting, bulb planting, hanging baskets and recycling schemes.

The conference also looked forward to the future, exploring the potential for further enhancing and extending the scheme, including introducing the idea of voluntary Street Champion Co-ordinators.  Guy Dixon, Senior Project Officer at CSV Environment, said “The Champions themselves have made the programme the success it is.  It was great to hear their thoughts on the way forward, and we look forward to working with them to make it possible.”

The Street Champion scheme is a community-led project which supports residents who are concerned about their environment and want to make improvements.  Champions are improving Birmingham’s environment through reporting problems in their area, organising activities, and making their views count through better contact with the City Council.  Now in its third year, the project is supported jointly by Birmingham City Council, CSV Environment, Birmingham Association of Neighbourhood Forums and Groundwork Birmingham & Solihull.

For further information, or to get a copy of the new Street Champions DVD, please contact Joanne Liddiard at CSV Environment on 0121 328 8801, or joanne@csvenvironment.org.uk.