City wide community litter picks as part of the Great British Spring Clean

Find out how you can get involved

Junior Neighbourhood Wardens and community litter picking groups are joining forces for a Southampton wide clean-up as part of this year’s Keep Britain Tidy - Great British Spring Clean campaign.

Housing areas in Golden Grove, East Meggeson Avenue in Townhill and the wider Lordswood area will receive a tidy-up on the 16, 17 and 18 April respectively, courtesy of the Junior Neighbourhood Wardens. As well as doing their bit for the local community and the environment, the young wardens will be incentivised to seek out litter from far and wide, as they will also be undertaking an Easter Egg hunt at the same time!

There are many community groups that undertake litter picks in different areas of Southampton, with 11 of these groups already putting on litter picking events during the Great British Spring Clean campaign. Organisers are being encouraged to register their events on the ‘Host a Clean-Up’ section on the Keep Britain Tidy website, to help underline the commitment that is being made to the environment in the city and to improving public spaces for all to enjoy.

Many of the community groups receive funding from businesses and individuals to help pay for vital equipment, bags and high vis vests, or to simply help to promote events and help to get local residents involved.

Building on many years of work by the Friends of Chessel Bay Local Nature Reserve, this spring Leaders Estate Agents is adding its voice to the campaign to encourage residents to take part in the litter pick on the 30 March. Richard Semedo, Sales Manager at Leaders Estate Agents in Ocean Village is helping to promote a litter pick taking place at Chessel Bay Nature Reserve on the 30 March, calling on local people to sign up and help out. Richard said: “We at Leaders felt compelled to raise awareness of the event when we heard about it. Not only from a corporate social responsibility level but simply from a moral obligation to the environment. The litter in this area can quite easily get washed out to sea, ultimately ending up in the oceans.”

Maggie Devine, Social Value Manager at Travis Perkins Managed Services, who donate equipment to the Junior Neighbourhood Warden litter picks, and other events, said: “As a business we strive to reduce our impact on the environment and are committed to this as one of our core responsibilities. This is a great initiative, and one that we are very happy to support. Well done to the Junior Neighbourhood Wardens for making a positive impact in their communities.” 

If you’re interested in finding out what events are going on near you, or even organising your own litter pick then visit our ‘Great British Spring Clean’ webpage to find out more.