Half-term blitz for Fort William play areas

Volunteers from Upper Achintore Regeneration Group (UARG) and Fort William Town Team plan to clean up litter from children’s play parks in Fort William this weekend, writes Mark Entwistle.

The ‘weather-driven’ litter-pick will begin at 11am on Sunday in the play park by the entrance to Banff Crescent on Lochaber Road.

‘We start at Banff Crescent play area at 11am, then if there are enough people we’ll make our way down the school route paths to Lundavra Crescent play area and do there too,’ said UARG chair Mark Linfield earlier this week.

The clean-ups will be the first events triggered by weather forecasts monitored by Fort William Town Team.

Mr Drayton explained the new ‘weather-driven’ approach: ‘If it’s pouring with rain people won’t pick litter. Weather forecasts only reach so far ahead, so it’s hard to plan for that.

‘But with social media we can organise events spontaneously. UARG has a Facebook page, as does the Town Team. Those are the places to go.’

The method is simple, he added and can be adopted by anyone: ‘Keep an eye on the long-range forecasts for likely weekend opportunities. Each week, reach agreement via social media on the Monday evening based on the medium-range forecast. Then get the message out to everyone else. I’m here to help: just email mark@fortwilliamtownteam.co.uk’

Town Team Information Officer Mark Drayton urged other areas to copy UARG.

‘Start in your local play park and if you have enough people and time, expand into other pedestrian areas. Wear gloves and visible clothing. Work in pairs and small groups. Carry a drink and set a reasonable time limit – two hours is long enough for most people, especially children,’ he said.

‘Litter isn’t just bad for tourism and the environment: it’s unhygienic and bad for mental health, too.’