Chilham Parish Council

Mersea Island Nr Colchester. Focussing on preventing litter ending up in the sea and protecting and enhancing the environment

Who are we? We are an environmental group undertaking planting in our village, litter picks, promoting reduction in Co2 and smart driving, and working with the local community to make our village a litter free area. We deliver over 1700 newsletters around our village promoting our message and work with Thringstone Primary School and the local brownie group various events, including a scarecrow festival in June 2011 which brought together all sectors of the community . We held another scarecrow event, in conjunction with Thringstone Methodists, on Saturday 6th July 2013. Our chairman litter picks daily, and is helped by others who litter pick regularly. We try, where possible, to recycle items which can be recycled. We petitioned for extra recycling bins in our village and now have two tin and plastic bottle recycling points and a glass recycling point, and are currently asking for the council to consider ways of recycling acceptable items put in roadside litter bins. Between February 2013 and the end of February 2014, we removed 1,958 bags of litter from the village and woodlands, which we feel is a staggering amount. We have also worked with other groups on environmental issues in the village, and were part of the steering group that saw Thringstone Youth Club win the Children and Young People\\\\\\\'s Green Footprints Award in 2011 for their mural project. We have taken over several flowerbeds and previously untidy and unused areas in the village for planting and offer historical and environmental walks around the village. Please see our website which is www.friends-of-thringstone.org.uk for further details on our group, plus details on our constitution, health and safety policy, equal opportunities policy, parental consent statements and volunteer expenses statement. You can also see on that site details of all our publications. What have we done? In 2009 we won the NW Leicestershire Green Footprints Awards, were awarded an outstanding achievement certificate by East Midlands In Bloom in 2009, and won a gold and silver in the village achievement awards run by the Rural Community Council. In 2010 and were finalists in the Community and Partnerships category of the NWLDC\\\\\\\'s Green Footprints Awards and again in 2013. In 2011 we won The Queen\\\\\\\'s Award for Voluntary Service, something of which we are very proud, especially since 2011 was the European Year of Volunteering,. In 2015 we won the Big Tidy Award at the Keep Britain Tidy Jubilee Awards 2015. In 2021 we won the Leicestershire Live Environmental Heroes Award and also won the Community Organisation Award 2021 with Leicestershire Community Champions. We have a facebook page, and we are also on twitter - address is @Thringstone2. In 2019, our chairman was awarded a British Empire Medal for service to Thringstone and in September 2019, her dog, who accompanied her on all her litter picks, was awarded a commendation from the PDSA.

Keeping area around Ashtead station clean

Dedicated to cleaning up the environment (we also make websites) -

Our first litter pick took place in November 2016. People stopped their cars & asked how to get involved, more have joined since. We live in a beautiful area & want to get rid of the litter which spoils the countryside. 6 Local businesses & 2 village residents have sponsored us & we now all have our own equipment (not borrowed from the District Council) Our hi-vis vests have a litter picking logo on the back & the Sponsor's name on the front. Our Parish Council support us by insuring us and a local garage has offered assistance.

Volunteer group supported by Brighton & Hove City Council to clear litter from green spaces in Brighton & Hove.

We have 26 active litter pickers each one of whom takes responsibility for a stretch of road or an area of green space. We meet occasionally to review tactics and to swop ideas. We have a massive litter pick once a year to shift an area of accumulated rubbish. We have good relations with the Parish Council and the local authority who are great at clearing flytipping when we inform them.

Though litter is picked regularly in the Village of Horndean unfortunately no sooner it is cleared than more is dropped. We are hoping to have all ages to help us keep Horndean and surrounding areas as clear of litter as possible. If you are interested in volunteering please contact us.

We are a revitalised 'clean-up' group of some 20 years' standing which incorporated collaboration with other agencies such as the Environment Agency, TCV, Highways and Groundwork as well as improving communication with our LA, local farmers and schools. Our aims broadened to include two new elements, namely education on litter and LA backed health walks. The latter has enabled people to enjoy our rural pathways, which are now regularly litter-picked, and at the same time build up their stamina in walking for health. In 2011, through fundraising, we were able to purchase two community notice boards to further publicise local events and amenities and our aims. We were very grateful to Groundwork Merseyside for installing them. It continues to be very satisfying to see people reading the notices displayed there and to see some new helpers on our litter-picks and new walkers on our health walks as a result. Both noticeboards were renovated this year, 2018 with help from a grant from Cronton Parish Council, for which we thank them. Our LA, Knowsley MBC, has always been supportive but In recent years, due to funding cuts to LAs we have had reduced contact with them, although they continue to help us by removing the bags of litter we collect on our biannual litter picks. We forged links with one of our neighbouring LAs, Halton, with a view to liaising on littering of our border areas. They provided us with litter-pickers and bags. This has made a big difference to our effectiveness. Updated 24.3.2018

Anybody can pick up litter, but nobody does yet everybody should. I decided to be that somebody that does