National Spring Clean 2012

Hooray! Spring is almost here - a time of year when Scots traditionally give their homes a spring clean and venture outdoors again after a long winter. Keep Scotland Beautiful is here to remind us that spring cleaning shouldn’t just apply to your home – woods need it to! 

The ‘National Spring Clean’ campaign encourages people to get together and help pick up litter in their community, including woodlands, nature reserves, gardens, school grounds, loch-sides... in fact any green space that could benefit from a tidy up in time for summer.

Since 2007, thousands of volunteers throughout Scotland have united to clean up Scotland’s woodlands. In fact last year alone over 250 woods in Scotland benefitted. Participating in National Spring Clean is fun, a great way to meet new people and very satisfying – as quotes from groups below testify.

So why not give your favourite wood a spring clean this year by signing up to Keep Scotland Beautiful’s National Spring Clean.’

Sign up for the 2012 National Spring Clean

Find out what others are up to on the Keep Scotland Beautiful Community Action Blog

John Freeman from the Friends of Udston & Glenlee Woods, in South Lanarkshire, said of their clean-up day:

“We had 20 pupils and a teacher from John Ogilvie High School + 8 adults and a Calderglen Countryside Ranger. We collected 16 bags of litter. It was good to see the kids realise the beauty of the woods.”

Liz Gavin of Capshard Primary School in Kirkcaldy, Fife commented,

“The children loved wearing their yellow volunteer bibs. They sorted the rubbish into recyclable and non recyclable, with separate bags for aluminium cans, plastic bottles, glass and general waste. The children were very sad to find 2 dead mice in a glass bottle. All the children now understand the danger that litter poses to wildlife. The children would love to take part in another litter pick but hope it would be on a day with drier weather!”

National Spring Clean runs from 1st April to 31st May 2012. It’s free and NSC will provide you with a handy Clean Up kit to help you on your way.