School or Nursery
By taking part in National Spring Clean, schools and nurseries – which often become the scapegoats when it comes to litter - can take part in a nation-wide campaign to demonstrate a zero tolerance approach towards litter in their local area.
A litter pick is a fun and effective way to educate young people about the consequences of dropping litter, when used in conjunction with other awareness-raising activities. It is also a good way to demonstrate to the local community that you are taking the issue seriously and can even help in your work towards an Eco-Schools award! For more about how your school or nursery could benefit from taking part, please see the Competitions page.
Case Studies
Accessible to all
Pupils with learning disabilities from Hazlewood School, Aberdeen, did a really good job when they tidied up areas adjacent to the school. They gathered four black bags of general litter, one of drinks cans and two of paper, before enjoying well-earned goodies from Greggs. A group of older pupils also was also involved in a city event at the River Don estuary.
Catrine Nursery School children and parents had a very productive event, armed with litter pickers and gloves from their local council, which added to the excitement. They took time to look at the wildlife and insects and had a topical discussion on how they are affected by litter. They plan to incorporate a spring clean into their yearly plan.
Organised approach
Each of the classes at Kintore School was given a designated area of the village to clean. Parents were invited to join in and a good time was had by all. The village looked pristine after 30 bags of litter had been removed!
Contributing to eco work
The eco-committee at Kinellar Primary agreed to tidy up the school grounds. Their eco-garden was also in need of a spring clean and the garden shed was in need of a makeover, so they painted boxes, varnished pictures and weeded flower containers as well as picking up litter.
Junior and senior school pupils from George Heriot’s School’s ecoclub took part in a litter pick as part of their continuing work towards their third Eco-Schools green flag.
Regular clean ups
Pupils at Kellands really enjoyed being involved with National Spring Clean and it was suggested that they run a similar event once a term to keep the area around the school looking nice. Among the nine bags of litter and bag of glass bottles that they collected, they also found some unusual items such as a toaster, chain, dinosaur and a plate!
Staff and pupils from Trinity Academy were involved in a very successful litter pick of nearby Victoria Park, equipped with litter pickers, yellow tabards and bin bags. Passers-by wished them well and said what a great job they were doing. The event was organised by the school's Eco-Committee and in future they are hoping to carry out a litter pick once a month by coordinating various groups within the school. It was hailed as a great success and the pupils really enjoyed it.
Fundraising
Strone Primary combined a litter pick of the school grounds, beach and woodland with a sponsored walk, gathering seven bags of general litter.
Woodfarm High School held a Green Day when everyone in the school made a donation to wear something green, to raise the profile of green issues and help fund future green activities. Almost 100 young people were involved in the community spring clean and prizes were awarded to the teams gathering most waste.
Reduce, reuse, recycle
P2 and P5 pupils at Pentland Primary School worked together in small teams of four or five to find litter from specific areas of the playground. Their task was to find waste that could be re-used or recycled. They filled seven bags of general litter, as well as finding cans, plastic bottles, rubber, glass, pens, pencils and papers.
Learning lessons
Nethermill Primary School split into two groups to collect litter from the villages of Nethermill and Parkgate. They then compared the two using the data they had collected in maths lessons back at school.
P1 pupils at Kirkcaldy North Primary had commented on the rubbish lying in the woods, which they use as part of their Outdoor Learning Programme, so they worked really hard to clean it up, gathering seven bags of litter and one of cans.
Making a difference
The colourful tabards and enthusiasm of the children at Sorn Primary School gave their litter pick a real community feel. The children took litter pickers with them and had a lovely day out, sprucing up the village and making it look nice for summertime.
Viewforth High School’s Eco Committee identified areas of the school grounds that required tidying. These included the school pond, behind the outside buildings and around the school playing areas, which were targeted during their litter pick. Both pupils and staff were surprised how much a difference their efforts made to the appearance of the school grounds.
Did you know that litter is the only mandatory topic for Eco-Schools in Scotland? See the Eco-Schools Scotland Resource Finder for more on the topic.
