Another Great British Spring Clean success for Newark and Sherwood

The campaign, which ran from Friday 17 March until Sunday 2 April, is the country’s largest mass-action environmental campaign, that encourages people to spring clean their community and litter pick nearby streets, beauty-spots and green spaces in order to protect communities and wildlife habitats. Keep Britain Tidy have reported that over 400,000 bags of litter were pledged this year.

Litter picking events were organised all over the District, by groups including staff at NSK Newark, Newark Community Gardeners, Historic Newark in Bloom, Rainworth Social Action HUB, Collingham Parish Council, Lowdham Community, Sherwood Forest Trust, RSPB, Green Southwell, Friends of Sconce and Devon Park, Friends of Balderton.

In total the hard-working litter picking volunteers from Newark and Sherwood collected 244 bags of waste from around local areas. The District Council worked with the volunteers to provide them with the equipment needed for the litter picking and afterwards came to collect any bags of waste collected and disposed of them. Some of the litter picking events were also attended by officers from the District Council.

In conjunction to the litter picking events the District Council also hosted a programme of greening activities to take this year’s spring clean a step further. Over the two weeks activities included:

• A public survey at Sconce and Devon Park - residents discussed exciting new plans for a Castle-themed playground and Fitness Zone, at the Green Flag award-winning park, with park rangers and District Council officers. All the feedback gained from this survey will be used to shape the plan for the park in order to best improve the popular local site with the residents at the heart of its decision.
• Over 60 oak saplings were delivered to Parish and Town Councils in the district, and the District Council also hosted tree planting events in Southwell and Newark, in which some of the saplings were planted as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy, a unique national tree planting initiative created to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. All of these plantings will add to 18,000 trees already planted by the District Council over the past few years.
• A Day of Action in Balderton – following nine successful Days of Action organised by the District Council in Newark and Sherwood, a day to tackle Cleaner, Safer, Greener issues in Balderton was undertaken. The District Council’s programme of activities resulted in 6.76 tonnes of waste being cleared from the area, 44 streets being deep cleaned, the removal of 8 fly tips, and much more!
• The Community Garden at Newark Library was officially opened to local groups and schools to hire. The site, which was designed with wildlife and sustainability in mind, can be booked for free as a space for learning and activities and events. To find out more about the gardens visit: https://www.newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk/latest-news/2023/march/community-garden-at-newark-library/

Andrew Kirk, Business Manager for Environmental Services at Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: “I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone who got involved in this year’s Great British Spring Clean. Seeing everyone, from community groups to schools and councils, come together to tidy up our local area was a fantastic example of what we can achieve when we work together to create a cleaner, safer, greener Newark and Sherwood.

“Spending your free time organising the events and going out to clean our communities of waste left by those who continue to blight our district, is no small task, and I commend all those who got out there and made a difference. I look forward to seeing what we can achieve together next year.”

The District Council offers support all year round to any person, parish council, school or local community group that would like to organise a voluntary litter pick in their area. Support provided includes promoting the pick locally to encourage involvement, providing equipment including black bags and high vis vests for the group, and any waste will be collected by the District Council's waste team. 

For more information on community litter picks visit our website: https://www.newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk/communitylitterpicking/