BOTH Skipton High Street and the centre of Embsay were a hive of activity as both received something of a makeover during Fairtrade Fortnight.

In Skipton the colourful knitted bands surrounding some of the lime trees lining the high street were made by members of Skipton Fairtrade Initiative and friends.

Children from Water Street School made leaves that were hung on the guard around a young tree while in Embsay the school added to the painted pebbles on the wall around the elm tree in Elm Tree Square.

This year’s theme for Fairtrade Fortnight was “Choose the World You Want - Climate, Fairtrade and You”.

During a virtual Fairtrade Fun afternoon, organised by Liz Roodhouse, chair of the Skipton Fairtrade Initiative and co-ordinator for Craven Development Education Centre, key worker children in Lothersdale, Greatwood, Sutton C of E and Water Street schools were joined on Zoom by some of their classmates learning at home.

They watched videos and listened to Fairtrade producers. For example, a cocoa farming family in Sierra Leone told them how they are protecting the Gola rain forest. They learnt that choosing Fairtrade means not only giving farmers a fair deal but it’s also about choosing to fight climate change, choosing farming with care, protecting the environment and thriving wildlife. The children chose slogans to write on the banners and flags.

“I was amazed and delighted by the imaginative creations, the attention to detail and the large number of entries,” said Liz.

Children at Lothersdale School enjoyed baking using Fairtrade products and designed and created leaflets and posters based on their own research.

Natalie Gallagher, Fairtrade co-ordinator at Lothersdale School added: “We had such a great afternoon in school and the feedback from parents and their families was very positive. We finished off the afternoon with a Fairtrade hot chocolate.”

At Greatwood Fairtrade bingo was a hit. After watching ‘The Guardians of the Rainforest’ children at Cononley School painted stones to represent the rainforest, Fairtrade and cocoa .Children from Bradleys Both, Christ Church, Cononley, Embsay, Giggleswick, Greatwood, Long Preston, Lothersdale and Water Street entered this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight competition for schools, using recycled materials to make the Fairtrade mark. There was ingenious use of food waste, old clothes, natural materials and packaging of all kinds.

There was a Virtual Fairtrade Dinner and Quiz on the last Saturday of the Fortnight and the group sponsored an event in the “Fairtrade Connections” virtual community arts festival.

Judges eventually picked the best entries from photographs for the competition. They are:

Ruby Wallbank Lothersdale School

Alex Rogers Water Street

Jonah Christ Church

Freddie Howard Greatwood

Eleanor W Cononley

William Gear Bradleys Both

Oscar Timbers Cononley

Matilda Walkden Long Preston

Oak Mitton Greatwood

Jack Allen from Lothersdale School

Chloe and Lucy Driver from Lothersdale School.

All will be receiving certificates.