03 September 2009
The Environment Department has announced plans to expand and mobilise its Eco-Active community outreach programme.
The plans include:
- running a new shared trailer with Transport and Technical Services’ Recycling Team at local events and schools with environmental information, advice and activities, starting in October
- creating permanent, unmanned marine interpretation on the south east coast
- expanding information offered on the ECO-ACTIVE section of http://www.gov.je/
- investigating the use of social networking i.e. Facebook and Twitter
Minister for Planning and Environment, Senator Freddie Cohen, said: “Eco-Active has gone from strength to strength. Last year, we successfully launched the private sector initiative, Eco-Active Business. This year programmes for school travel, marine stewardship and energy efficiency measures targeted at low income households have been introduced.”
“Recently, my department made the difficult decision to close our two visitor centres, Discovery Pier and Kempt Tower, to meet the financial savings agreed by the Council of Ministers. Maintenance costs and falling visitor numbers have meant the centres have been running at a loss for some time. However there will be no redundancies as a result of the closures as the Information Officers who run the centres are recruited seasonally.”
The visitor centre cuts have coincided with a review of the Department’s environmental education and awareness programmes, as Education and Awareness Officer, Olivia Copsey, explained: “Our aim, through the Eco-Active programme, is to help Islanders make environmentally responsible decisions. To achieve this, it’s vital we put ourselves at the heart of the community and that we regularly review what we do, to ensure we are offering people as much support and guidance as we can.”
The existing interpretation materials from the visitor centres will still be on display to the public. They will either be relocated to an appropriate public building, which is open throughout the year, or loaned to the National Trust for Jersey for use at Greve de Lecq Barracks. Options for keeping Kempt Tower open to the public are also being investigated.
Mike Stentiford MBE, Director of the National Trust for Jersey, said “Having enjoyed a long association with both centres, it is very sad to see them close, but understandable with falling visitor numbers and changes in visitor expectations. The National Trust is therefore delighted to be able to provide a good home for such high quality interpretation material at Greve de Lecq Barracks which is currently attracting around 15,000 visitors a year”.
gov.je