Posted: 12/06/15
Giving litter the sack
Environmentally-aware students at West Nottinghamshire College joined staff in collecting litter alongside a busy Mansfield road.
Doing their bit for the environment are (from left) Charlotte, Michaela, Bethany, Jodi-Lee, Harriet and Ashleigh.
In readiness for today’s (Friday 12 June) third annual International Clean-Up Mansfield Day, eager childcare students Charlotte Binks, Bethany Gordon and Harriet Spencer decided to make an early start by taking part in a litter-pick along Nottingham Road, 24 hours before the big district-wide blitz got under way.
The 17-year-olds joined staff members Ashleigh Trolley, Jodi-Lee Clarey and Michaela Carlyle from the student support department in clearing discarded rubbish from pavements and grass verges – filling-up six bin bags in the process.
Harriet, from Mansfield, said: “It’s important to keep the area around college looking nice because it shows students care about the environment. So this was about me giving something back to the community.”
Charlotte, from Kirkby-in-Ashfield, said: “Removing litter makes the area look better and keeps it safer for children and animals too. Everyone should get involved because keeping our streets clean and tidy is everyone’s responsibility.”
Student experience officer Marie Oakton, who organised the litter-pick, said: “It’s great the students wanted to get involved and it was lovely to hear that so many passing motorists and pedestrians thanked them for their efforts.”
Members of the college’s Students’ Union are now set to take part in a Skype call with their counterparts at Mansfield University, Pennsylvania, USA, to share best practice following the American institution’s successful recent clean-up initiative, which saw more than 350 volunteers complete 1,100 hours of community service during a single Saturday in April.
Organised by Mansfield District Council, International Clean-Up Mansfield Day sees community and voluntary groups, schools, businesses and individuals in Mansfields across the world – including in the States, Canada and Australia – come together to improve their local environment through activities such as painting benches, trimming hedges, litter-picking, planting flowers and creating window displays.
