Our little litter heroes
How youngsters have led way in fight on nation’s rubbish scourge
WITH bin bags, gloves and boundless enthusiasm, it’s the little litter pickers who are leading the charge against rubbish.
Scouts and community teams, conscientious siblings and eco-tots have shown just what the Daily Mail’s Great British September Clean is all about.
The campaign – run in conjunction with Keep Britain Tidy – comes to a close tomorrow but the Mail hopes the stories of these youngsters will inspire readers to continue the crusade against litter…
THE COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS
FOR the dozens of children involved with the Junior Fife Street Champions, it has fast become the highlight of their week.
Wearing hi-viz jackets and armed with litter pickers, the group meet up most weekends to clean up beauty spots around Fife.
Organiser Becca Hughes, whose eightyear-old Sam is one of the Champions, said: ‘We only started up the group around four months ago but it just grew and grew.
‘We have 60 members on our Facebook group who are dedicated to cleaning up Fife.’
Miss Hughes said it is important to encourage children to start litter picking when they are young to give them an awareness of their surroundings.
She said: ‘The kids have a lot of fun doing it. It’s become a nice social event for them and it’s great to see them all so passionate about the environment.
Miss Huges said the children often get ‘frustrated’ when they see surges in litter, especially since lockdown was eased.
She added: ‘last week, we did the local park and picked up 150 bags of rubbish. I understand people are getting used to a new set of rules to live by – but it’s like they’ve forgotten that the old rules still apply. You still need to put your litter in the bin.’
THE VILLAGE HERO
AFTeR Thomas Truby first saw David Attenborough’s Blue Planet, he decided take action.
For his eighth birthday, Thomas was given a pair of litter pickers and set about making a difference. now ten, Thomas still helps keep his village of Torphins, Aberdeenshire, tidy and set up his own community group, The Rubbish Club.
He has enrolled his friends and family in his drive to reduce their plastic consumption and pick up litter where they see it. He said: ‘I’ve always really liked David Attenborough and have been very inspired by what he does.
‘I watched Blue Planet Two and I just wanted to do something to help out. I started going out on the beaches and in the parks with my friends a few years ago.
‘Because of lockdown I’ve only been able to go out around my local village but I’m hoping to do more soon.’
Thomas’s mum, Gayl, 47, said: ‘He’s an amazing young boy. He’s really inspired us to reduce our plastic consumption and to be more eco-friendly. As a result of everything he’s done, we’ve even set up our own zero waste market stall in our village.’
THE SCOUTS PREPARED FOR LITTER PATROL
WIelDInG their litter picking sticks, the scouts, beavers and cubs of Wyre Forest in Worcestershire, have been waging a war on Covid litter that is blighting local parks.
Scout leader Karen Blanchfield led 15 litter picking sessions throughout September with 195 children involved.
Mrs Blanchfield, a Keep Britain Tidy ambassador, said: ‘The kids absolutely love it. I work with children from six all the way up to 18 and all of them get something out of the sessions we run. ‘They can’t believe how much litter there is around and they’re very determined to do something about it.
‘We run a very fun, educational programme for them to show how long litter lasts and how damaging it can be to wildlife. Since we’ve come out of lockdown the problem has got even worse. There are face masks everywhere.’
The Wyre Forest scouts work with community group the Junior Pick-up Artists who aim to get children interested in litter.
THE SIBLINGS MAKING WAVES ON THE RIVER
CAnOeInG on the River Soar in leicestershire, luke and Sam Hill were astonished by the mess they found. The brothers were taken out on the water by their uncle Sam laywood, 35, a local litter picking hero who was determined to show them how waste impacts waterways and wildlife.
Along with several other litter picking groups to go out on the river that day, they collected 150 bags. Mr laywood, a sales rep, said: ‘The way to engage children is by showing the impact litter has on wildlife. That’s what really motivates children to think about the environment.’
luke, 12, and Sam, eight, found footballs, shoes, bags and food on their trawl of the waters. Mr laywood set up the north leicestershire litter wombles Group in lockdown. He said: ‘In August alone we picked up 1850 bags of litter. I think that really shows the scale of the problem.’