Here's an idea

When regeneration and construction group New Life began working on a £6m regeneration project in Braunstone, Leicester, we developed a CD-ROM for local primary schools, explaining how regeneration works.

Contractors used to turn up at schools and say "here's our cuddly mole to tell you about safety", tick that box and think "we've connected with the kids, they won't break our site up". Instead, we wanted to really engage with the younger children. After all, it's the present-day 9-to-11-year-olds who will actually be living in the homes we build.

Trilby Multimedia helped us develop the CD-ROM. It was first used in a primary school last September and now two schools run lunchtime and after-school clubs with trainee teachers from the Education Action Zone. The kids can interact with it, and it's about their neighbourhood so they relate to it. They love it because it's a bit different from schoolwork.

If someone's going to pinch from your site, they're going to pinch, but when it comes to throwing bricks, that tends to be the little kids. The scheme started in October 2002, and we haven't had a single broken window.

Over six weeks, the children produce their own community plans, and it's interesting and surprising hearing what they think is important when they're given a free rein – the main thing they ask for is bins for dog dirt.