We are going to clean up the Jubilee River side!

But first, what happend in August?

Our members did lots of individual litter picks last month! What a difference it makes when you fill up a bag during your daily walk. Unfortunately, the litter comes back quickly as well. Behind the scenes, we are working closely with Slough council and lobby for the importance of a clean and green town. How can you help? By reporting all the flytipping problems that you see in your local area. Use this link (and keep on reporting, over and over again):

Our mini litterpicks in Upton Park every other week are also going great! In just 1 hour we normally pick a bag or so per person.

The main litter pick this month was a mega clean. We cleaned up Bloom Park on Sunday 21st August. The Friends of Slough Canal volunteers cleaned the canal side, and we attacked a hotspot in the park. We collected a shocking 60 bags! It took us 2 hours with 14 people.

The litter was already there for years, making the park unsafe for the local community. We cleared it all up, have a look at the impressive before and after pictures. Other than our amazing volunteers and Gladys, the dog, councillors Christine Hulme and Safdar Ali joined us. Esther, from the council, also helped us litter picking, and she brought the litter pickers and bags.

What I have noticed with an area like Bloom Park is that there is not just one problem that has to be fixed. The council didn’t clean this area even though the residents have complained about it many times. Not enough is being done by the police when the residents complain about drugs use and youths who cause a nuisance. But also, Esther handed out 50 flyers to the adjacent houses, but none of the residents came and helped us. It is clear that to have a permanent change, the local community must take back their park, supported by Slough council and the police.

In the spirit of those thoughts: on 18 August, it was Never Give Up Day! A day all about cultivating a mindset of determination, something that we, as the Anti-Litter community, definitely have! In a podcast I listened to the other day, someone said, “I prefer to be naive and positive than to be an old cynic”. This resonated with me. I call myself a determined optimist. Even though sometimes it feels like everything is against us. For ourselves, the planet, and Slough, we can not let litter win; we will never give up!

This brings us nicely to our next litter pick! We will clean up the Jubilee Riverside on Sunday, 25 September, which is national World River Day. Why do we do this? 80% of marine plastics pass through rivers and streams to the sea. There is no lawful responsibility for any organisation to remove it from our rivers, so communal action is needed! We hope you can join this litter pick! There will be snacks, drinks and lovely people!

Lastly, I would like to put your attention to our latest adventure. We are going to start a repair cafe! If you like to fix things (this can be anything) and want to help the local community, please contact us at [email protected].

On behalf of the committee,

Thank you for your support and we will see you soon!

Tirza