‘We found a new sense of purpose’
Lisette Johnston, 53, and Jo Earlam, 56, from Devon, started litter-picking during the pandemic, and have set up the Eager Beavers to keep their community clean.
LISETTE SAYS:
Working as an NHS intensive care nurse, I’ve always needed an activity to help me de-stress from my job. When the first lockdown was announced, I would go on walks and the litter I saw quickly began to annoy me. I decided that instead of just complaining about it, I’d pick it up. It was only over Christmas 2020, though, that I started doing more regular litter picking. My husband, Clinton, encouraged me to raise awareness of how bad the problem was. I’d never been on social media before, but I joined Facebook and posted photos on our community page of the waste I had found. Jo saw my posts and got in touch to say she was doing the same thing. We lived less than half a mile away from each other, and arranged to meet and pick up litter together. It was lovely because we talked about everything – from our lives and worries to the number of sweet wrappers that had been thrown on the ground. We met multiple times over the weeks, and picked up everything from crisp packets, bottles and cans, to knickers, car parts and shoes.
The Eager Beavers was born a few months later, when we realised that we could make a bigger change with more people involved. Now, we have 60 members. Not only has the amount of litter in the community reduced, but the group has allowed me to meet lots of creative and interesting women and make great friendships. I met Vicky Mclachlan after she joined to help us test the water in the river. She’s done an ecology course at the Eden Project and is passionate about conservation. I also met wildlife photographer Sylvie Biber, who films the beavers in the river.
It’s about caring about where you live
GREAT OUTDOORS
But, most of all, litter picking is very freeing. Although I love working in intensive care, it now involves an element of sensory deprivation because you’re wearing so much personal protective equipment. You can’t smell, taste, see or hear anything properly, so going outside and being able to sense everything is a very soothing experience.
JO SAYS: When I was a child, I would go for walks with my dad to beautiful spots on Dartmoor. Sometimes, I’d see heaps of rubbish left behind and would ask why people did that. He never had an answer, but always said: ‘Just because someone else has left this rubbish, doesn’t mean you have to grow up to be somebody who treats the planet badly.’
His words have stuck with me and I’ve made sure I never drop any waste. I’ve got involved with environmental groups and taken part in beach cleans, but it was only during the lockdowns that I realised litter was a problem in my community and decided to do something about it.
For me, the best thing about teaming up with Lisette and creating this group is that it’s rekindled a connection with my community. As a carer for my husband, John, who suffers with dementia, I’d been feeling very isolated. So getting out with Lisette and other women, laughing and chatting, made a real positive difference to the mental state I was in, and litter picking has given me a new sense of purpose.
I also feel proud that we’re making a difference. It gives me a sense of satisfaction when people come up to say ‘thank you’ for what we do. It’s about caring about where you live. You might be someone who doesn’t drop litter, but that isn’t the same as picking it up.