DESIGN students have helped spread the word about saving the planet by creating window displays at a Wirral shopping centre.

The exhibits, on view at Pyramids in Birkehead, were put together by undergraduates from Hugh Baird College in Bootle.

Their aim is to alert shoppers to the importance of green issues such as recycling, biodiversity and controlling litter in our towns.

The shopping centre has joined forces with the further education college and Wirral Council’s Eco Schools initiative to launch the Ten Shades of Green project, which sees 10 different shop window displays in the shopping centre, most of which have been created using recycled materials.

The project is the brainchild of Wirral Council's Eco Schools Officer, Lynn Struve, who said: "As part of the work in local schools, we were looking for a way of engaging with secondary students.

"With young children, ecological issues tend to be seen in either black or white but as they get older things aren't so straightforward.

"We were therefore looking at ways to reach the mid-teenagers and we decided that one thing they love to do is shop and they also understand brand marketing, so that's why we came up with the Ten Shades of Green project using windows at the busy Pyramids Shopping Centre.

At the opening ceremony the students who came up with the three best designs were awarded prizes by Pyramids centre managers.

Derek Millar, commercial director for Pyramids Shopping Centre, said: "The window displays are visually stunning and many shoppers couldn’t help but stop and see what they were all about.

"The messages they convey are really powerful."

Cllr Brian Kenny, said: "The designs not only provide a vibrant and unique backdrop to shopping in Pyramids Shopping Centre, they also encapsulate a number of very important themes.

"I would like to thank the students for their enthusiasm and ideas, which have been executed with great professionalism."