Covid-19 restrictions on social gatherings, forced us to fundamentally change the way we run the group; rather than organizing litter blitz events, we instead launched a new ‘Adopt a Street’ initiative. This simple concept essentially invites residents to adopt a street or area that is on their doorstep and pledge to keep it as litter free as possible. We had a fantastic response with over 80 volunteers signed up to the initiative and are opting to incorporate litter picking into their daily or weekly routines; such as whilst walking their dog or along the route they take their child to school, most of those individuals have reported gathering at least a carrier bag worth of litter each time.
Our Keep Britain Tidy Ambassadors Tracy Kenny and Dai Richards worked with NCC Environment team to look at how we could provide equipment / process where our volunteers could ADOPT A STREET. Litter Pickers provided by NCC, yellow bibs from Jewsons and MKM Builders merchants, Gloves/Bags from NCC.
Quotes from our KBT Ambassadors :
Dai Richards: ‘Many of our members simply enjoy getting out in the fresh air for some exercise whilst at the same time doing something positive for the town. The Adopt a Street initiative is the safest way to get involved right now, whether you can pledge 5 minutes a day, 15 minutes a week or 1+ hour a month – the combined efforts of our fabulous volunteers makes a difference. The group is a formidable force and bit by bit we are clearing our wonderful town and surrounding areas of litter and we’ll continue to be relentless in our quest to make Morpeth a litter free zone.”
Tracy Kenny: I’m a huge animal lover and it’s a known fact that litter sadly causes so much harm to our wildlife. I’ve seen a field mouse that had clearly become trapped inside a plastic bottle and then drowned, a bird tangled up in the straps of a disposable mask and a hedgehog that had nearly suffocated with its little head stuck inside a crisp packet. It would be great if we lived in a world where no one dropped litter, but since this is currently a pipe dream, right now, I want everyone to remember that even one single piece of litter you [safely] pick up is one less piece that is not going to cause harm to our wonderful local wildlife
To find out how you can get involved in the Morpeth Litter Group Adopt a Street initiative visit Facebook @morpethlittergroup or email morpethlittergroup@gmail.com
Attached below is a photo of our GMDT volunteer, Simon Cox, completing his Adopt a Street commitment.
