It's a very strange feeling … having to come to terms with the loss of something I've created and cared for - and written millions of words about - for nearly a decade. Sadly, the Yellow Woods Challenge eco-educational initiative from Yell has closed for good.
From a 'back of a beermat' idea to an award-winning campaign, I've been there every step of the way. In the early days, we used the Robert Frost poem for inspiration:
Two roads diverged in a (yellow) wood, and I
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
We did indeed tread a new path with Yellow Woods Challenge and the campaign mascot, Kirk. They did, indeed, make a difference to millions of kids and to the environment. Millions of directories were recycled into useful new products; 3m children learnt about nature; schools won money for eco-projects, and Yell won acclaim and many friends for its approach to CSR and sustainability.
The world’s moved on massively since 2001 – environmentally and economically – and the Challenge was no longer a sustainable option for a business going down new roads. But hopefully, many of those children will keep the recycling bug they caught at school and go on to become lifelong environmentalists. The Wombles did it for me! Will Kirk enjoy the same legacy?
And all the trees planted thanks to the match funding for the Woodland Trust will be there in woods for generations to come. They may or may not inspire poetry, but they will provide important habitats lots of real-life Kirks!
Debbie Griffiths http://www.idealcsr.co.uk/
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