Young poets find a new vehicle for their words
Sixty promising young poets will make their artistic debut on the television screens of Brighton & Hove Buses’ new extended-range electric buses later this month.
Twenty-five of the children were treated to a tour around Whitehawk Bus Garage last week, including a drive through the bus wash and a bus ride down to the seafront.
During the bus ride, the children tucked into popcorn and watched a behind-the-scenes film of their creative process, followed by a screening of the poems themselves.
The bus company teamed up with Brighton & Hove-based charity Little Green Pig, which offers a programme of free creative writing projects to young people across Sussex.
Children were asked to write a poem about their experiences on Brighton & Hove buses and what the theme ‘Live & Breathe’ meant to them.
The bus company launched its Live & Breathe campaign last year to show its ongoing commitment to improving air quality in the city and tackling climate change.
The poems will appear on the TV screens of all 30 of the company’s new buses, which run primarily on the city’s route 5. Local artist Aaron Blecha’s energetic illustrations accompany the children’s poetry.
Abby Moyle, aged 9 from Moulsecoomb, said she was pleased to be given the creative freedom to write a poem with her school friends.
“When you’re doing English at school they tell you specifically what to write and what to include but with Little Green Pig they get you to write something [around a theme] and the rest is up to you,” she said.
Little Green Pig’s Learning Manager Adam Webb said children and parents were beaming when they saw their poems up on the screen: “One of the participants from our Whitehawk after school club said it had been the most amazing day of his life!”
Brighton & Hove Buses’ Managing Director Martin Harris said: “I’m so pleased the children’s words will be on our new buses. Just a few minutes listening to our children talking about the planet is enough to inspire anyone to want to do more and work harder on the journey that we are all on together.”
Martin said he was really impressed by the high standard of the children’s poetry and by how imaginative all the poems were around the theme of the environment and the city.
Young poets find a new vehicle for their words