Teens spend spare time litter picking
KIRKLEES project Streetbikes has reached the finals of the National Lottery Awards – the annual search for the UK’s favourite National Lottery-funded projects.
Streetbikes is competing in the Best Health Project category.
The project beat off stiff competition from more than 700 organisations to reach the public voting stage in this year’s National Lottery Awards, which celebrate the inspirational people and projects who do extraordinary things with National Lottery funding.
The project with the most votes will be crowned the winner and receive a £5,000 cash prize to spend on their project.
Streetbikes Cycling Project enables people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds to pedal their way to better health and wellbeing.
The project has a range of bikes – including some adapted for people with disabilities – to suit everyone and provides a valuable service for vulnerable people. While events and activities are open to the community, there is a particular focus on tackling health problems and helping people from deprived or disadvantaged areas.
To vote go to lotterygoodcauses. org.uk/awards by midnight on July 27. TWO teenage friends are on a mission to clean up their community.
And Heather Hawkins and Abbie Boswell are doing it aged just 14.
The community-spirited teenagers, both year nine pupils at Honley High School, have been litter picking around Meltham in a bid to safeguard the environment for animals and, of course, the rest of us.
Heather said they aim to carry out a litter pick twice a week, adding: “We have been doing this to prevent any wildlife or pets getting hurt while outside. It is also to stop pollution.
“Usually we would do this twice a week, as we have school, and we were hoping if people saw this maybe they could help too.
“We don’t have any actual equipment, we just use gloves and bin bags.”
The girls can sometimes spend hours clearing litter from the side of roads or the woods in and around Meltham.
Heather added: “Depending on how much litter there is it usually takes us a couple hours for a few roads/woods. We clean up places where people might walk their dogs as it can be harmful for them.
“It takes us longer in rural environments because there is long grass and trees so we have to look more thoroughly.”
Their parents have spoken of their pride in the girls, with Rhonda Cash, Heather’s mum, saying: “I could not be any prouder of both girls for what they are doing.
“They started about six months ago, just because they wanted the area they live in to look nice.
“We all want people to stop dropping litter, but the girls enjoy it and on the school bus in the morning they’re looking out of the window to see if there’s rubbish anywhere and they text each other the location.”
The girls would both benefit from some equipment, so if anyone can donate litter pick sticks, black bags, high-vis vests or gloves then they would welcome it.
Their charitable efforts go further as Heather recently had her hair cut shorter for the Little Princess Trust, raising £250 in the process.