Friends of Ilkley Riverside Parks are partnering with The 2 Minute Foundation, a registered charity dedicated to encouraging people to do a small amount of litter picking when they are out walking. The concept originated on the beaches of Britain and is now spreading to other areas, such as Canals and Parks.
“We saw the impact the movement was having on keeping our beaches clean and were keen to see if we could replicate this in our Parks here in Ilkley. Jo Moseley, who Paddle boarded around the coast of the England to raise funds for the Foundation, very kindly agreed to support the cost of a Litter Station in the Riverside Gardens from the funds she raised from her exploits. We’d also like to give a massive thank you to the Riverside Hotel who are supporting this venture and storing the Station and putting it our every day for use.
Kelly Weston, who is the 2 Minute Foundation Guardian for the Litter Stations in the area, said. ”We are so pleased that the Friends of Ilkley Riverside Parks have agreed to deploy one of the Foundation’s Stations in the Park. We think the concept works on a number of different levels, including raising people’s awareness of the Littering issue and we hope the placement of the Station in the Park will make a difference”.
Continuing to try and change the Litter Culture:
“We hope visitors to the Park will embrace the concept and use the Litter Station to borrow a Litter Picker and litter bag and just collect some litter when out on their walk through the Park. Of course people should ensure they sanitise or wash their hands before and after using the Litter Pickers. We have left some Sanitiser on the Station but it is also near the Public Toilets so people can wash their hands there.” Said Ed
The Station was launched on Saturday by FOIRP and members of Ilkley School’s “Trash Heroes”. A Group set up by Kate, a parent at Ashlands, to both educate but to contribute to tackling the Litter issues around Ilkley. Kate is seen here with her sons, Finn and Milo, and George, a prominent member of the FOIRP Team at the launch. Notably Finn celebrated his 6th birthday by Litter Picking!
“FOIRP Litter Pick twice a week in the Parks both sides of the river all year round and many of their members now litter pick every day on their walk. However, the key message we want to get over through our work and through the launching of the new 2 Minute Litter Station is that people should not drop litter in the Parks which are used for everyone’s enjoyment. When the bins are full (and no matter how many times on a busy summer the Council empty them they will always get full!) people should either look for another bin, usually within 100 yards of the last one, or just stick their rubbish in the bag they brought it in and take it home and slip it into their own bins” said Ed, “Until we get this message over to everyone we will always be fighting an uphill battle”
