SIX young people from St Helens will enjoy an exchange visit with a difference next week when they change places with a group from Leeds.

For the six are taking part in the St Helens Community Awareness and Self Motivation initiative (CASM) and will tackle the long distance trek to Leeds on foot along the Leeds/Liverpool Canal. They will keep a taped diary and collect environmental momentoes which will be stored in a time capsule. Each night, they will sleep on barges moored on the canal. When they arrive at their destination in the John-o-Gaunt estate in Rothwell, they will be met by another group of six who will re-trace their route along the canal, arriving in St Helens on Sunday, August 10.

The aim of the exercise is to promote the environmental charity, Groundwork's 'Changing Places' programme which is supported by the Millennium Commission.

Both St Helens and Rothwell are using the programme to help transform derelict colliery sites into new green recreational areas and both parties plan to visit a third Changing Places site at Groundwork Blackburn.

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