Ainsdale Civic Society

A gathering of volunteers who meet in the painted bus shelter in High Bentham at 1pm on 13th of each month. We spend an hour or so litter-picking, weeding, planting or generally clearing up around our market town. We also put pressure on the Town Council or District Council when we come across something that we need to tackle in partnership with a larger, more official body.

The Parish Pickers started as 3 small bands of willing volunteers in in the St Stephen Parish near St Albans and by combining forces and with better advertising through posters and social media we have grown to a 50 strong group of mostly fantastic \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Lone Rangers\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'. We currently do several litterpicks in throughout the year plus we support as many major events as possible including The Great British Spring Clean / World Rivers Day / Love Parks Week

The Clean-up Team is part of West Rainton Green Group, which was formed in April 2003. We aim to remove litter from paths, bridleways, road verges and other open space in the vicinity of West Rainton, thereby improving the attractiveness of the local area. The work is undertaken by members of the Green Group in their spare time. We organise about five or six events each year, and members of our team also collect litter on an individual basis from time to time when the need arises. Since the start of the project we have collected 100 - 150 bags a year, and attempt to recycle as much as possible, particularly cans and bottles. Prior to each event contact is made with Durham County Council, who provide a truck to remove all the bags that are collected. We have contributed to national and regional environmental programmes such as Community Service Volunteers 'Action Earth' campaign, City of Sunderland's 'Just Bin It' campaign, Litterfree Durham's 'Big Spring Clean' and the ENCAMS 'Big Tidy Up'. Since 2009 we have worked in partnership with Network Rail to clean up a nearby length of disused railway. As well as litter-picking we also alert Durham County Council and City of Sunderland Council to fly-tipping in the vicinity of the village as soon as it happens. Prompt removal has significantly improved the visual appeal of local lanes and paths. About 300 incidents have been reported since 2003.

Currently most of the work is done by my Border Collie who collects crisp and other wrappers and plastic bottles. She then finds the nearest waste bin and puts the litter in it. She has been doing this for the past 5 years.

Dog walkers clearing the way. Every day members clear litter from our streets, beaches and open spaces and tackle sea pollution during regular beach cleans. We are responsible for the Angler’s line pipes which have been placed to collect waste line which is then recycled. Our aim is to recycle as much litter from our beaches as possible.

We are a local authority primary school and are wanting to contribute to the community where litter is concerned.

A group of local people concerned about our local village and are prepared to assist in tackling cleaning and tidy jobs that are not getting done by the local councils. We work is collaboration with our parish council.

Mashamshire is an area of outstanding beauty. We are doing what we can to preserve it. We do litter collection along the lanes and footpaths in and around Masham - and we find loads of plastic. We are reducing the impact of micro-plastics on the diet of your children and grand-children! A Masham resident has kindly offered to pay for our group meeting coffees. Many thanks. As we go about Mashamshire we get many kind appreciations from folk that we meet.

As from October 2021, we will be operating as normal and resuming our monthly organised litterpicks in the Allington area. These usually take place on a Sunday morning starting at 10am for an hour or so at a venue advertised on the events section. We generally follow our litterpick in a local cafe for a chat and refreshments. We are a small friendly group of like-minded individuals who care about our local environment and want to keep it clean and tidy. If you are interested in joining us then do please get in touch and give us a try - new members are always welcome. All equipment is provided.

The aims of Moston Litter Pickers shall be: To improve the quality of the surrounding environment of Moston and keep our Lanes clear of litter in order to give residents a sense of pride.