Getting started
On Saturday, 3rd Nov, around 30 volunteers met up at St Michael’s Church to litter pick the Churchyard, woods and Cobb’s lane. The main aim was to get the Churchyard ready for the remembrance service. Can you guess how much litter we picked? Find out at the end of this post!
The first volunteers started arriving early from 9.40am – there was obviously a huge appetite to get stuck in. People kept filtering in as volunteers came and went – everyone was welcome whether they had 5 minutes or were staying for the whole pick.
Areas covered
The Churchyard itself only took 2 or 3 sweeps to be cleared, as did the area surrounding the church. In the woods and down Cobb’s lane it was a very different story, as you can see here.
Volunteers who went into the woods found them to be very overgrown, with new piles of rubbish being found in various corners and “dens”. The whole area was cleared out leaving the woods broadly litter free for the first time in a number of years.
Down on Cobb’s lane, sad to say, there were a number of fly-tipped items as well as a great deal of litter – fly-tipped items have been cataloged and the Council will be made aware shortly. Now that there is a team of people looking after this area, hopefully, fly-tipping incidents will reduce. Remember, if you see fly-tipped rubbish in this area or on any public land, please report it to the Council: here.
“From 9 May 2016, local authorities in England can issue fixed penalty notices between £150 to £400 for small-scale fly-tipping offences pursuant to the Unauthorised Deposit of Waste (Fixed Penalties) Regulations 2016.”
How much rubbish?
And the amount we picked? 1 metric tonne! That’s right, 1000kg (just a little short of an imperial tonne, for those who haven’t made the shift to metric yet). It was an impressive sight and a testament to the power of local people getting together to make a difference in their community.
Thanks
This was a team effort – the Friends of Hamworthy Park together with volunteers from St Michael’s church – with the support of Poole Council.
A great big thank you to everyone who gave up their Saturday morning – the litter pickers, the volunteers who sorted out tea and cakes, the wonderful refuse guys from the council who picked up the rubbish (and weighed it for us), the churchwardens and Friends who worked out the dreaded insurance, the Friends for providing some of the litter pickers and Poole Council for providing the rest.
Get involved!
Do you fancy making a difference in your community, meeting some new people and getting some fresh air? We have a selection of volunteering events:
Wednesday Volunteers – meet every Wednesday in Hamworthy Park, 10.00am outside the park cafe.
Saturday Volunteers – we run a programme of Saturday volunteer events – upcoming events include bulb planting in the park, November 10th, 10.30 am, and the Rigler Road litter pick, December 1st.
See our website or Facebook for further details. Or get in contact.
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