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'Living Shade' is a Sefton wide
project to raise awareness of sun protection and prevention
of skin cancer via the use and development of natural shade.
The project primarily focuses on children and young people,
who are the groups most at risk from over exposure to the sun.
Merseyside Health Action Zone have financed the programme over
the last three years, however funding has also been attained
from the National Grid Community 21 Award, SureStart, the Youth
Service and the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership.
The project involves the active participation of school, pre-school,
community groups, youth centres, NHS and other workplace sites
and aims to:
- Provide shade for children and their carers in places
where they learn, gather and play. This includes the provision
of seating in existing shaded areas, tree planting and creating
living willow structures.
- Disseminate sun awareness information to raise public
awareness of the dangers of over-exposure to the sun and
encourage the adoption of sun safety techniques during the
summer months.
- Cascade basic willow weaving skills to local people and
facilitate the further provision of Living Shade in Sefton.
- Enhance the image of the local environment and provide
natural habitats for wildlife.
Living Shade links into a number of key issues within the Healthy
Schools Award Scheme such as the physical & social environment
section and Sefton's Local Agenda 21 Strategy. The initiative
also won the business section of the Groundwork 21/Merseyside
Health Action Zone Sustainable Health Awards in February 2002.
Be Sunsible - Sun Safety Training
Sefton Health Improvement Support Service has developed a short
train-the-trainer session consisting of a 30-minute workshop and a
resource pack for key Sefton agencies working with populations at
risk of skin cancer including children, young people and outdoor
workers. The training has already been successfully undertaken
with coast and countryside staff, construction workers, Health
Visitors, School Nurses and sexual health teams. If you would
like to attend a session, please contact Janine Sinclair on 0151 479 6550.
Download our 'Be Sunsible' training pack.
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