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Local volunteers tidy up nature reserve
A willing band of 25 local residents collected over 30 bags of litter from Galley and Warden Hills Nature Reserve as part of a Big Tidy Up community litter picking day last Saturday.
Volunteers of all ages worked in the sunshine to clear bottles, cans, wrappers, plastic bags and even an old ironing board from nearly 40 acres of the nature reserve, which is owned by Luton Borough Council and managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire.
Reserve Officer Esther Clarke said: “We were really pleased with the response from local people and amazed at the amount of rubbish removed. This has made a huge difference to the nature reserve and made it a safer and more attractive place for both wildlife and people. The volunteers can be very proud of the work they did. I’d also like to thank the council’s Parks Department for taking away the collected rubbish.”
The event was part of a national project, The Big Tidy Up, run by the Keep Britiain Tidy Campaign. Look out for similar events being run later in the year.
- Galley and Warden Hills Site of Special Scientific Interest - about 100 acres of chalk grassland located on the north-east edge of Luton, just off the A6 - is owned by Luton Borough Council and managed by The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Peterborough.
- Esther is happy to be interviewed and to take reporters and photographers on a site visit.
- Bringing people together to take action for wildlife is the Wildlife Trust’s mission. It manages 129 nature reserves - all of them free to visit – and 95% of the population live within five miles of a reserve. The Trust is working to make these wildlife havens bigger, better and more joined-up – vital to help wildlife to adapt to a changing climate. By gathering valuable information about wildlife and working with other landowners, the Trust also monitors and safeguards wildlife beyond the boundary of its reserves.
- For more information about the Wildlife Trust see www.wildlifebcnp.org
- For more information about Luton’s Nature Conservation Service see www.luton.gov.uk/conservation
- For more information about the Big Tidy Up and Keep Britain Tidy Campaign see www.thebigtidyup.org