PRIMARY school children in the Island have been asked to come up with new designs for collection boxes for the Wildlife Trust.
The Manx Co-operative Society has teamed up with the Wildlife Trust to launch the competition which is open to children in years five and six.
Anne Marie Kilgallon, fundraising officer for the Manx Wildlife Trust, said: "Children are generally very interested in wildlife but often are not aware of quite how much is around them at all times.
"We hope this competition will provide the inspiration to really take note of the environment around them and they will translate their findings into colourful designs for the collection boxes.
"23 schools have already shown interest in the competition so the results are looking promising and I'm sure the judges will have a tough job on their hands selecting three winners from all the entries."
Chris Boyd, membership manager for The Co-operative in the Isle of Man, said: "Supporting the Wildlife Trust's collection box design competition is a great way of engaging children with wildlife as well as helping to raise awareness of the charity’s fantastic work in the Island.
"I'm sure the winning designs will brighten up our till areas and encourage more shoppers to support the Manx Wildlife Trust."
The idea for a decorated collection box was first introduced last year when the manager of the Port Erin Co-operative store invited the Wildlife Trust to install a collection box on the counter.
The competition closes on Friday, February 11. A group of judges, made up of staff and volunteers for The Co-operative and Manx Wildlife Trust, will select the three best designs.
These will then be hand-painted onto collection boxes which will be placed in different Co-operative stores across the Island for a year.
The Manx Wildlife Trust is also offering free, inspirational wildlife talks, delivered by its education officer, to all schools taking part in the competition.
