RotherFed had organised several litter picks in Ferham park as part of the Green Spaces campaign to help maintain and improve local greenspaces in Masbrough. The litter picks have attracted 6 volunteers over the activities and has managed to clear 15 bags of waste from the park so far.
On the first pick we had been litter picking longer than planned as Tracey (volunteer) was enthusiastic about clearing the area of Ferham Park. I had met Tracey before who volunteers for Time Builders previously and it was nice to see her again. Due to covid19 she has not been able to volunteer with the group. It was fantastic to see Tracey enjoying herself out litter picking. Tracey has already asked to be part of the next Litter pick and greenspaces projects. She said that it helps her to get out of the house and help keep her focused. On the day of the event it was the weather was very hot throughout the day. The event provided bottles of water for attendees and had a regular water break every hour due to the heat. After the litter pick Ferham Park looked fantastic!
I have to say if we were in competition Tracey would have won hands down on picking. Both Tracey and I were very happy with the amount of rubbish we were able to pick up over such a large space and were looking at organising another litter pick soon. I was informed that Tracey was quite shy and could be quite nervous around people but after being on the pick with Tracey for a few hours we were talking quite comfortably.
The Atmosphere on the second pick was great, as volunteers were conversing throughout the event. I had met Tony for the first time on this litter pick. Tony is a local resident who lives close to Ferham park and want to get involved in more community activities to get out to meet new people and serve his local area. He has a very good work ethic and he was not afraid to get stuck into the hard to reach places around the park. Tony is shows passion for his community and wants to help keep the area tidy. Tony was very enthusiastic, and we will be keeping in touch regarding more activities in future.
Also attending the pick were Jonny & Damien, who are from outside of the area but wanted to take part in some extra activities as they are currently out of work. They brought a lot of humour to the group and found the activity quite therapeutic. Louise & Grace who were also from outside the area were attending because of Grace who is Louise’s daughter wanted to do a litter picking activity on the day. It was great to see someone so young want to go out and help a community for fun. The group were very friendly.
Both days were very hot. The areas looked so much cleaner after the litter picks although a lot of refuse was stashed in shrubbery and bushes, we had managed to clear lots of refuse from around the playing fields and areas. After the litter pick the areas looked fantastic and everyone came away after with the sense of a job well done.
