The Geography Programme of Study clearly states that young children should:
   1. express their own views about people, places and environments.
   2. recognise how places have become the way they are and how they are changing.
   3. recognise how the environment may be improved and sustained.
Later they should:
   1. identify how and why places change and how they may change in the future.
   2. recognize how humans can impact on or change places and environments.
   3. identify their own opportunities for involvement in changes to their locality.
   4. study local issues arising from changes in land use.

Within the Citizenship curriculum children need to be able to discuss current issues affecting their own locality and recognize the need for change and how man influences changes within the environment.
It is obvious from this sample of statements from the National Curriculum that even very young children are encouraged to develop a sense of place. Many Civic Trusts have links with secondary schools but with the introduction of Citizenship and P.H.S.E. into primary schools that there are opportunities to widen these links further.
It is important that local schools are kept up to date of current local issues. There is a problem of timing as teachers plan work usuallyon a half termly basis and with the restraints of the curriculum it is often difficult to respond to local issues as they arise.
Societies could make contacts with young people in a number of ways:
   1. Giving talks.
   2. Undertaking guided walks especially with secondary children.
   3. The children could be involved in creating a family trail around a village or town. Civic society members
        helping with the research. They could then act as guides on heritage days.
   4. Presenting children with an issue that affects them. Children could design questionnaires and carry them
       out amongst their families and communities.
   5. Civic trusts could act as a catalyst for environmental improvements, (see example below)

Maryport Civic Society runs the local 'Maryport in Bloom' competition. There were no entries from schools so it was decided to apply to the 'National Lottery' to give each school a grant to develop a garden. The 6 schools were given £600 to build a planter with a theme based around Maryport's maritime history. They were then automatically entered in the annual competition. As a result of this all the schools raised further funding to create garden areas within the school. Two schools built boats, two built a lighthouse, one built a mosaic and the other built a large fish that was also a seat around which the children could sit. The school children were involved in the designs and the planting. One small infant school now runs a gardening club and have developed their school grounds to include a sensory garden and herb garden, raised beds for growing vegetables and were recently given a grant of £1 000 to erect a horticultural poly-tunnel which is being used as an outside class room for science and environmental studies. Society members are regular visitors to the school being invited to see the developments that have resulted from the initial grant.

Barbara Hepburn.
Maryport & District Civic Society.