City primary school shortlisted for Young Litter Heroes award

Children at a Leicester primary school will find out next month if their litter-picking efforts have won them a prestigious national award.

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The ‘Less Litter for Leicester’ project saw youngsters from Hope Hamilton C of E Primary School collect more than 28kg of litter from their school grounds, neighbouring streets and local parks.

More than 150 children, aged between five and 11, took part in the litter picks, with members of the school’s Eco Committee inviting their families to help them clean up the area too.

Now the school has found out that their project has been shortlisted from hundreds of entries for Keep Britain Tidy’s ‘Litter Heroes’ award.

Leicester City Council, which developed the Less Litter campaign, nominated the school for the award.

Eco-Schools education officer Marc Tench said: “Hope Hamilton was one of 31 city schools to take part in the project, but their response to the challenge was particularly impressive.

“Not only did they collect nearly 30kg of litter, but they involved all year groups in the project. They also showed great initiative in sharing their ideas with their local ward councillor and joining the Leicestershire Wombles on litter picks in the local area.

“We were proud to nominate the school for this award and are delighted that the project has now been shortlisted.”

Deputy city mayor for the environment Cllr Adam Clarke said: “The children at Hope Hamilton should be very proud of their achievement.

“I hope their efforts will remind people that litter belongs in a bin, and not in our parks and open spaces, where it creates an eyesore and can be a danger to wildlife.”

Deputy head and eco-lead for the school Sophie Barker said: “This was a project that all our children wanted to be part of.

“Two of our pupils, however, went above and beyond. One of them has been a member of the school’s Eco Committee for the whole year and has worked tirelessly to come up with ideas and activities to support our local area.

“She’s always collecting rubbish on the playground and gathering food waste for our allotment compost bin.

“The other one is always the first to ask for litter-picking equipment and goes out at the weekends to clean up litter that she’s spotted when she’s out and about.

“Whether Hope Hamilton is announced as a winner or not at next month’s awards ceremony, we’re very excited to be shortlisted and we know that all our children are committed Litter Heroes.”

The Young #LitterHeroes Award 2023 is part of Keep Britain Tidy’s Network Awards.

The award seeks to recognise an outstanding contribution by a group of young people who have demonstrated commitment to the local environment and reducing litter.

A spokesperson for the charity said: “Our Network Awards celebrate the most innovative litter, waste and space solutions developed by local authorities, often with the incredible collaboration and contribution of residents. Our hope is that these fantastic initiatives will inspire others to do the same.”

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Liverpool on 9 February.