Volunteer litter pickers are needed to support a community initiative fit for a king, as Warrington’s litter network is planning a huge day of action as part of His Majesty the King’s Coronation.
The Big Help Out, which takes place on Monday 8 May, forms part of the coronation celebrations and is a national day of volunteering – where everyone is being asked to lend a hand to support their communities.
In Warrington, volunteers have mapped out a hugely ambitious litter picking route – in the shape of a crown! – where teams will tidy up a series of key routes across the town. Teams will collect equipment and set off from Warrington Town Hall at 8.45am to then begin at various locations from 9.45am.
The group, supported by Dr Tony Dixon, a retired GP from Grappenhall and Keep Britain Tidy Ambassador, is now on the lookout for more people who can come along and lend their support.
Dr Dixon said: “We have more than 100 people signed up to support already, and it would be great if we could double the number of volunteers willing to help out on Monday 8 May.
“We are grateful for the ongoing support from the council and local parish councils, and we are now looking for people who can give up a couple of hours to walk up to two kilometres, picking litter along the way.
“We’ve had huge success with a number of litter picks before, and we’re incredibly proud of the volunteers who take the time to make Warrington a cleaner place. It would be great to welcome more volunteers as part of The Big Help Out. A coronation is such a rare and significant event – taking part in the Warrington Royal Crown litter pick would be a great opportunity to support this special and unique historic occasion.”
There will be nine litter picking teams in total, each led by at least two leaders.
The litter picking team will consist of community champions Bob Towers, Alan McKinnon, Steph Davies, Bill Cooke, Amanda Bowles, Dr Dave Carr, Kay Grecian, Claire LF, Josie Jarvis, Dr Tripta Joshi, Julie Campbell, Hannah Austin, James Witty, Beky Wakefield, and Louise O’Neill, alongside Dr Dixon.
Mayor of Warrington, Cllr Jean Flaherty, who will be setting off the Crown litter pick volunteers from the Town Hall, said: “This is a fabulous community project and I’m pleased to be playing my part in support of it. Our litter picking teams do great work week in, week out for Warrington and their plans for the Crown litter pick must surely be their most ambitious yet! It will be fantastic to see so many people giving their time in support of such a special initiative.”
Cabinet member for community, Cllr Tony Higgins, said: “If you are looking for a way to support the Big Help Out campaign locally, you would do well to find a worthier initiative than the Crown litter pick! This idea and project really does show off the best of Warrington’s communities.
“It would be great to see even more people join the team on Monday in support of this outstanding initiative which I’m sure would be Warrington’s biggest ever litter pick – please consider giving a couple of hours of your time to support.”
If you would like to take part in the Warrington Royal Crown litter pick, you can:
- Visit the event page online and select “I’m interested”
- Sign up through the Big Help Out app (search for Warrington Crown litter pick)
- bookings.crownlitter@gmail.com
All volunteers will be led by experienced leaders and each section will be risk assessed, with safety briefings in place. All kit will be provided, but volunteers are asked to dress for the weather, wear durable footwear and, if possible, to bring gardening gloves. Most of the available litter picking kit has been funded by local business Novelis.
