Submitted by Susannah Cook on Fri, 2023-03-24 15:09
Do you remember when you were a young child and you played Hide and Seek, or Treasure Hunt? Can you recall that tingling, screech-making feeling when you found what you were looking for, a hidden friend or, perhaps, even better – treasure!?
Well it's a bit like that – litter picking.
It only takes a little imagination to think of all that discarded waste that, sadly, increasingly seems to pollute our public spaces as gold! Yes, gold! And it’s there for the taking! Volunteer, and it’s yours.
A tiny team from the Faculty of Education went foraging for litter at nearby Coleridge Recreation Ground on 23 March 2023 as part of our Green Impact efforts. It was a blustery day but it didn't stop us catching three bags full of litter, as some of it tried to fly across the soccer pitch. Those telescopic grabbers are fabulous fun.
Our biggest treasure was a discarded 5 litre water bottle, and we retrieved multiple beer cans, bottles, assorted crisp and sweet packets, cigarette ends and illicit drug dispensers of various types. And plastic, there was lots and lots and lots of plastic.
It only took half an hour, but we managed to cover the entire park picking up the everything we saw. As we finished, and walked back to our bikes with our treasure in tow, we couldn't help but spot other tiny pieces of litter poking out from the grass and shrubs. Pick, pick, pick – gotcha! It really is quite addictive.
If you get a chance to go litter picking, do. One of our team said, that when she was a teacher, litter picking was one of the most popular things that the children in her school did. They loved it.
And I can see why: it gets you out in the fresh air, clears your head, your lungs, has a great social purpose, and generally makes you feel quite good.
If you fancy a go at organising a treasure hunt (aka a litter pick), you can contact the council directly (Volunteering opportunities for businesses - Cambridge City Council) and they'll support you by supplying the kit along with health and safety guidance.
Also, feel free to contact the Green Impact Team at the Faculty of Education if you have any questions or would like some support. Contact: greenimpact@educ.cam.ac.uk.#
Written by: Steven Day, Faculty of Education Student