ARTISTIC youngsters have created a new logo for a project which has helped hundreds of schools reduce their carbon footprint.

Durham County Council and its partners at Outdoor and Sustainable Education Specialists (OASES) have relaunched the School Carbon Reduction Programme with a new name and logo.

Schools across the county were invited to submit name and logo ideas and not one but two designs were chosen from more than 200 entries and amalgamated together.

Now called Eco2 Smart Schools, the programme also has a new website which will be launched at the end of the month.

The winning design was created by Sophie Evans, from Coxhoe Primary School, and former Wearhead Primary School pupil, Lucy Nattrass, who now attends Barnard Castle School. The children joined council chairman, Councillor John Lethbridge, to officially relaunch the programme at Durham’s Radisson Blu Hotel.

Rich Hurst, education development advisor at Durham County Council, said: “The School Carbon Reduction Programme has been running for more than eight years now, supporting almost 250 schools across the county each year. We felt it was an ideal time to refresh the programme and we were keen to get the children directly involved.”

Maggie Bosanquet, who leads the council’s Carbon Economy Team, added: “We were delighted with the response we got from schools across the county, and it was wonderful to see the children’s reaction when they saw their designs made up into the official Eco2 Smart Schools logo.”

Eco2 Smart Schools is one of the initiatives the council and OASES co-ordinate to help schools reduce their carbon footprints, whilst educating children about sustainability and the importance of caring for the environment.

To find out more, visit durham.gov.uk/sustainabilityeducationsupport