Tilling Green Residents Association organised a litter pick on Saturday, April 8. The litter pickers met at 10:30am at the Community Centre and, kitted out in high-viz jackets with long-handled reachers and large black plastic sacks, set off on their rounds.
I met three of them, carrying bulging plastic sacks, by the children’s playground. Daisy Streeton was in the lead, the moving force behind this particular crew. She had told her parents about the litter pick, and they felt they should support her by joining in. Her dad emphasised that it was Daisy’s choice.
Daisy’s mother said how surprised she was by the amount of small pieces of litter that had been discarded. Apparently, a particularly bad area is the stream by Tillingham Avenue, which gets blocked by all the litter dropped and which Daisy notices on her way to and from school.
It is very encouraging to see young people noticing their environment in this way, persuading their parents of its importance and getting out there to actually do something. What about Rye Academy forming a litter pick squad to tidy up around the school now and again, to help the local community?
Anyway, congratulations to the organisers and all the Tilling Green litter pickers. I’ll come along next year, I only live over the main road!
Photos: Gillian Roder and John Wylie