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A
walk on the wild side
SCHOOLS across
Liverpool are going wild this autumn. Liverpool City Council has
launched the Liverpool Roots project to get children and residents
brightening up parks and nature reserves by sowing wildflower seeds.
The project started on Friday 7 October, when pupils from St John's
Catholic Primary school started sowing Meadowsweet, Bluebell and
Wood Avens plants at Canalside Park in Kirkdale. The 3 year scheme
also involves residents and community groups and will improve the
wildlife, visual and recreational value of Liverpool's parks and
nature reserves.
The city council's executive member for leisure, Councillor Warren
Bradley, said:- "Liverpool Roots is a great way to get local
people involved in creating new habitats and making the city's parks
and green spaces more colourful. We want to repopulate our parks and
make them more appealing places for people to spend their time. We
hope that this can do this by simply adding some colour and
encouraging more wildlife to make these green spaces their habitat.
It's particularly important to get young people involved so they can
fully appreciate the green havens that exist on to their doorsteps
and actively preserve them for future generations."
The project is being launched over the next 6 days. Croxteth Country
Park Local Nature Reserve (LNR), Childwall Woods and Fields LNR,
Mill Wood LNR, Greenbank Park, Everton Park Nature Garden and
Claderstones Park will all benefit from the Liverpool Roots project.
A variety of plant species will be sown, including Ox-eye Daisy, St
John's Wort, Hedge Bedstraw, Hedge Garlic, Bluebells, Lesser
Knapweed and Cow Parsley.
Many of the wildflowers will have blossomed within a year and the
project runs to 2008 making the city bloom for its European Capital
of Culture year. Liverpool Roots has been organised by the city
council's ranger service and supported by Lancashire Wildlife Trust.
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New
nicotine beer will only provide a smokescreen for bad habits, says
dental charity
THE UK's
leading oral health charity has slammed brewers that claim their new
beer will help smokers to quit, saying the development will simply
see people swap one vice for another. The British Dental Health
Foundation, providers of free and impartial dental advice to the
public (0845 063 1188), says that although the high-strength
nicotine-containing beer might help some smokers to keep their
cravings at bay, it will also lead to a vast increase in alcohol
consumption.
The charity was commenting after manufacturers unveiled the new 'NicoShot'
lager, which has an alcoholic volume of 6.3%. Drinkers would need to
consume 3 full cans to take in the same amount of nicotine as a pack
of cigarettes.
Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the Foundation, commented:-
"The idea of marketing a strong alcoholic drink as a quit-smoking
aid is nothing short of ludicrous. For the heavy smoker a couple of
cans simply won't be enough - meaning the manufacturers will be
actively encouraging smokers to drink more alcohol, simply to keep
their nicotine craving at bay! You have to ask yourself what is the
point of trying to help someone quit smoking if you are simply going
to replace one bad habit with another."
The Foundation was speaking in the run-up to Mouth Cancer Awareness
Week (November 13 to 19). Mouth cancer kills one person every five
hours in the UK and, although smoking is the condition's main risk
factor, excessive consumption of alcohol is close behind.
Dr Carter added:- "In theory, this drink
could have a very negative impact on the nation's health. There are
many people out there who would have looked to tackle their smoking
habit using traditional methods, but who might see this as something
of an easy option. The reality though of course, is that if people
simply replace smoking with heavy drinking they will be no better
off than they were in the first place."
AN
EVENING OF SOUL
MUSIC lovers can
still snap up tickets for a concert crammed with soul and guaranteed
to fill your heart with song. The uplifting experience comes
courtesy of the Liverpool Philharmonic Gospel Choir, which performs
at Prescot Parish Church, Knowsley, on Friday, October 21, at
7.30pm. Directed by Tyndale Thomas, the prestigious choir will be
performing favourites including Oh Happy Day, Light a Candle, Lean
on Me and Love is the Message.
Meanwhile, tickets for the event are now on sale, priced £6.50 or
£4.50 concessions, available from Prescot Museum, Prescot Library or
Prescot Church, by calling Knowsley Council’s Arts Service on 0151
443 5619, or from the Huyton Suite 0151 443 3761.
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