Follow in the footsteps of Colliers Wood
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, is calling on people in and around Wimbledon to join this year's Capital Clean-up, and help tackle litter, rubbish and graffiti in their local parks, streets, estates, residential areas and waterways.
The Mayor's Capital Clean-up campaign, in partnership with McDonalds, is inviting local community groups and local businesses to apply for grants of up to £500, or a special litter picking clean-up kit, to bring volunteers together in rubbish clearing events to create cleaner, greener, and safer local environments.
From litter-picking in a park, to graffiti removal or creating a new garden outside a local school, Capital Clean-up, now in its sixth year, has already helped thousands of Londoners to get together and hold clean-up events to smarten up their neighbourhood.
In the recent spring campaign, 1,560 volunteers took part in 77 events and collected more than a thousand sacks of litter, 55 tonnes worth of fly-tipping, and helped freshen up around 240 thousand square metres of the capital.
Capital Clean-up aims reaching out to as many community groups as possible, providing the support they need to host clean-up events in their neighbourhoods. The aim is to attract 10,000 'clean up local champions' volunteers by summer 2016.
Keith Spears applied for a clean-up kit for the Colliers Wood Residents' Association this spring. With the help of 28 volunteers, they removed 12 sq m of graffiti and collected bags of rubbish.
Keith said: "The Colliers Wood Residents' Association organises a monthly "Make A Difference Day". The kit enabled groups of local residents to tidy up local parks and open spaces during the spring and returned a sense of civic pride to a busy inner city area."
Boris Johnson said: "Bringing people together to roll up their sleeves and tackle litter and mess in their communities can make the world of difference, giving areas a mini facelift and making them more enjoyable for locals and visitors alike. I hope as many people as possible in Merton get involved in Capital Clean Up and help boost community pride by keeping our great city tidy and litter free."
This summer there are more than 60 clean-up kits available to give communities the tools they need to get local residents involved and help make a difference. Each one includes litter pickers, tabards, bin bags and a £50 voucher to help provide new planting and painting, and create litter and graffiti free streets and parks.
August 28, 2013