Snowing this morning but some of us had done some good litter picking during the week. 20 Bags collected this week from … Read More about Litter Pick 24 January
Parish Pickers
What is Parish Pickers?
Parish Pickers was founded by Stuart Jarvis, former Chairman of Copythorne Parish Council, in February 2019, with the aim of collecting litter in the Parish of Copythorne. We are a not-for-profit Community Group, staffed entirely by volunteers.
It was becoming all too clear to the residents of Copythorne that the litter problem within the Parish was getting worse. A growth in the number of takeaway food and beverage outlets had come at the same time as a squeeze on council budgets and services, so greater quantities of litter were now less likely to be cleared away. Research by “Keep Britain Tidy” has established that people will drop litter far more readily when they see litter is already there, and so the problem gets worse. Litter also signals a lack of local care and is linked to higher levels of graffiti, vandalism and crime.
Parish Pickers is our response to this situation. Since February 2019 we have been organising litter picking events on a weekly basis subject to weather conditions. In response to covid 19 regulations in 2020 our weekly litter picking events were replaced by individuals, couples and families picking on their own at times that suit them. This has proved a very effective way of working with more litter now being collected. We have a wonderful group of volunteers and strong bonds of friendship are being formed amongst them. There is no obligation to litter pick every week, but if you chose to join us, we would be delighted to see you just as often as you want to come along. We are a very friendly group and are grateful for all the help we can get. Litter picking can be surprisingly good fun especially on a sunny day! You’ll get toots and thumbs up from passing motorists and lots of thanks from members of the public supporting our efforts. After just an hour you’ll feel really good knowing that you have done your bit for the environment we all share and enjoy. The great thing is that it works, we are already noticing that litter accumulates at a slower rate in areas we have cleared before. So if you are interested please join us, this is your chance to lead by example and to help your community.
Our wider ambitions are to become a model organisation that can be replicated in other parishes and to help educate those people of all ages and backgrounds who have been entrusted with packaging but who aren’t quite bright enough to work out what they should do with it.
