Litter pickers praised as they clean up their village

Children from Hesleden Primary School took part in a litter pick around their community.

The school has an internal Eco Schools Committee, which is chaired and run by pupils, and they opted to help clean up their village.

Usually, the group takes part in litter picks around the school, but on this occasion, they wanted their help to be more widespread for the community.

However, they were surprised by what they discovered around the village.

Teaching assistant Elaine Gillespie, who joined them in the activity, said: “There was a lot more rubbish than we expected, and the pupils were very surprised by what they found.

“We collected an awful lot of it, and the children were happy to have helped out like that.

“A lot of them live in the village, and wanted to do their bit rather than just helping out around the school as they always do.

“We even had to make a phonecall to the council afterwards, as there was some rubbish that needed to be removed because it was unsafe.”

Each year, the school aims to gain a Green Flag award, which acknowledges its commitment to helping the environment.

As part of that, the Eco Schools Committee meets once a fortnight to decide which areas it would like to help out in, and which projects to undertake.

The pupils were joined in the litter pick by Mrs Gillespie, fellow teacher Lisa Bryson and school governors, as well as the village’s guides and brownies.

Mrs Gillespie added: “Max, the school dog, also joined us, and it was a very successful day.

“The children have already asked if we can do it again, and we will.

“Days like that are also good because there is a social element to it, as well as aspects of teamwork, with the children out of the usual classroom environment.

“They decide the type of projects they want to take part in – for example, they recently took part in a competition to make things with recycled materials.

“They help out in a lot of different areas and deserve a lot of credit.”