UPDATED 22 MARCH:
Please note that all Chippenham litter picks run by Off the Ground are cancelled or postponed until further notice. All going well, our 12 September clean up in Donkey Field will go ahead as part of the Keep Britain Tidy Great September Clean Up, but please watch this space for further information.
If you would like to borrow litter-picking equipment to go on a solo or family clean up, please let me know and we will drop it off.
Chippenham, start your calendars … the tentative dates for this year’s litter picks are ready(ish). These still need to be approved and we’re double checking that there are no other events on at the same time in the chosen locations, but please consider pencilling the following dates into your diaries:
- Saturday, 28 March: Monkton Park (Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean)
- Saturday, 2 May: Donkey Field
- Saturday, 4 July: Monkton Park
- Saturday, 12 September: Donkey Field
- Saturday, 14 November: Monkton Park
All clean ups take place from 10am until noon, weather permitting (although many thanks to everyone who turned up to help in November’s downpour!). Jon is running all litter picks and can be reached at jon_paget@hotmail.com.
And don’t forget you can pick up litter at any time – we won’t be offended! We are happy to loan equipment if you don’t have any (just contact Jon for details), or consider investing in kit from Helping Hands Environmental. We’ve done a few rubbish walks ourselves since 1st January, and the theme for this year seems to be mugs: we’ve found two so far! If you’re a Craig (or know one who would benefit from the mug on the right), please get in touch.
There will also be some changes to Off the Ground this year. The Off the Ground organising committee has shrunk to the point where it is no longer feasible to focus on running projects and educational opportunities ourselves. As a result, I have made the decision to turn the website into a resource for community groups who are more active. It will have a national rather Chippenham focus, and I will be concentrating on behaviour change, project ideas, and downloads. I will continue to email items of interest and reminders about clean ups to members of the mailing list*, but posts may be a bit quieter than usual while I redesign the Off the Ground website and launch the Reduce Your Wasteline blog (both of which are ongoing, so please pardon the mess while I restructure this website).
In the meantime, please feel free to take a look back over the past year:
- Happy New Year 2019
- Too Many Questions, Not Enough Answers
- Viva La Revolucion!
- Five Years and Counting
- It All Adds Up
- Why People Litter and An Addendum
- Beyond Spring Cleaning
- National Refill Day 2019
- The Other 364 Days of the Year
- Meeting in the Middle on Waste Reduction
- Reduce Your Wasteline: The Bathroom
- Reduce Your Wasteline: The Wardrobe
- Reduce Your Wasteline: Out and About
- Reduce Your Wasteline: The Kitchen
- Reduce Your Wasteline: Gift Giving
- Reduce Your Wasteline: Everything Else
- Reduce Your Wasteline: Get Social
- Reflecting on My Wasteline
- Greenwashing and Unintended Consequences
- Tip of the Iceberg
- Festival Fundamentals
- ‘Tis the (Summer) Season
- One Step Forward, Two Steps Back?
- Anger and the Greater Good
- Creating a Cleaner Culture
- Planting Ideas
- Introducing Sammy
- “Advent”-ures in Calendar Making
- More Thought, Less Waste Gift Guide 2019
- Waste Audit 2020
Please contact me to be added to the volunteer list. If you want to keep up to date with everything litter-related on Off the Ground—new blog posts, campaign ideas, and activities—please sign up here.