Wirral schoolchildren help turn cards into trees!

ECO-friendly youngsters from West Kirby Grammar School, are making it a green New Year by recycling their Christmas Cards to help out leading woodland conservation charity, the Woodland Trust.

The pupils are dropping off cards in the classroom, which are then taken to branches of WHSmith, Tesco, TK Maxx or M&S where they’re turned back into card products.  The process raises “recycling credits” as a reward from councils for less waste going to landfill, and last year paid for the Woodland Trust to plant 17,000 trees.

This week, keen recyclers from West Kirby Grammar School, are doing their bit for the scheme, by dropping off cards into a special recycling bin in the school.

Last year, 73.6 million cards were collected and people in Merseyside alone handed in 1,530,000 cards which raised enough money to plant 362 trees (Liverpool collected 748,000, Sefton collected 223,000, Knowsley collected 82,000, St Helens collected 387,000, Wirral collected 90,000).

It’s all part of the Woodland Trust’s campaign to make the UK a greener place – currently only 12% of the country is wooded, compared to 44% in Europe.

Sue Holden, chief executive of the Woodland Trust said:- “I’d like to say a great big thank you to the staff and pupils at West Kirby Grammar School for supporting our Christmas Card Recycling Scheme. Woodlands are wonderful places for exploring, keeping fit and learning about nature – however old you are!  Plus, they play a vital part in keeping our planet healthy for future generations. By recycling cards this January at WHSmith, Tesco, TK Maxx or M&S, we’ll be able to plant thousands more trees which these youngsters can then one day take their grandchildren to see!”

JESSY DIXON GOSPEL CONCERT CANCELLED AS ‘KING OF GOSPEL MUSIC’ TAKEN ILL

JESSY Dixon, the man who the International Herald Tribune newspaper dubbed ‘The King of Gospel Music’ as a result of his prolific performances across Scandinavia and Europe as well as America and many other parts of the World, who was due to fly in from Chicago, Illinois this Friday, 16 January 2009 to do a concert at Banks Methodist Chapel (nr Southport) on Saturday 17 January 2009 at 7.30pm. has had to cancel the event, as his doctors are unable to give him permission to fly.

Just over a week ago, Jessy was suddenly taken ill, with pain in one of his legs. He was admitted to hospital, and it was discovered that he was suffering from a thrombosis. In view of this, the doctors attending him forbade him to fly for at least two weeks.

Richard Jagger, the concert organiser, said:- “We are all so disappointed with this news, but our main thoughts at this time are for Jessy, and his speedy recovery, so that he can continue the great work he carries out all over the world. I am sure Jessy will be completely frustrated, as he loves nothing better than flying around the world, singing the Gospel Music that he has dedicated his life to. We are all praying for Jessy’s return to full health as soon as possible, and will arrange another date for this concert as quickly as we can. We would like to apologise to everyone for any inconvenience caused, but clearly this postponement is unavoidable.   There was to be no charge for admission to the concert, but a collection was going to be taken for the work of the ‘Epiphany Trust’, a North-West based Charity working with disabled and disadvantaged children in various parts of the world affected by disasters and human atrocities. They are currently doing work in Romania, Sri Lanka, D.R. Congo, India, Pakistan & Burma. Jessy Dixon is a patron of the Epiphany Trust.”

Jessy appeared with Mica Paris in a BBC ‘Songs of Praise’ special, ‘The Story of Gospel’ on Sunday 28 December 2008.