Stormwater Shepherds UK gathered with friends and partners at the beautiful Jesmond Dene park in Newcastle to clean up the River and to chat with local families about litter and wildlife. We had a fabulous day in the sunshine and we collected 10 big bags of rubbish. The rubbish was mostly plastic bottles, drinks cans and glass bottles but we also collected jumpers, tights, socks, gloves and pants!
Families visiting the park could join in with the litter-pick, and the children enjoyed the colouring activities that we had provided, creating magnificent butterflies and rainbow bottles.
The River in the park, the Ouse Burn, runs into the River Tyne and any litter from the park may travel out into the North Sea, where plastic litter gets entangled with marine creatures and where microplastics cause chemical pollution in the water. This litter pick was carried out in partnership with the Tyne Rivers Trust, Urban Green Newcastle, local residents and the Friends of Jesmond Dene.
We are planning to run this event every year and we hope to see the number of volunteers increase just as much as the amount of rubbish falls.
