Fife Street Champions need more litter heroes to join the ranks

Fife Street Champions is now hoping to enlist even more members to its ranks.

And youngsters are also being encouraged to roll up their sleeves with the launch of Junior Fife Street Champions – with their own Facebook page to celebrate their achievements.

The initiative began two and a half years ago when Hilary Haman from Freuchie, fed-up with litter blighting the village, started to do something about it.

Soon after, David Spence signed up to the ranks.

The retired business manager had been looking for something to fill his time and happened across the champions’ Facebook page.

He’d already been picking up litter on regular walks with his daughter Gillian’s labrador Keeva in woodland around his home town of Glenrothes.

At that point, the champions consisted of just a handful of concerned residents.

But at the end of last year, they decided to start signing up more recruits and by Christmas, 700 people had joined the Facebook group.

The champions have since affiliated with the Beach House Burntisland and Happy Beaches Fife with the aim of holding regular litter picking events.

Safer Communities Fife has also pitched in with litter pickers and bags.

And Print It Stitch It in Kirkcaldy has lent a hand too, making Fife Street Champions high visibility vests – at a discounted price.

The three administrators – Hilary, David and Claudia Genest – are now eager to enlist more help. For while the Facebook page has many supporters, only around 50 members regularly pick up litter.

David (65) said: “Our aim now is to get more people, in communities across Fife, regularly picking up litter.

“We’ve managed to stay active throughout lockdown, recently holding a litter pick at Bankhead in Glenrothes.

“Four or five members, over the period of a few visits and staying socially distant, managed to clear 189 bags of rubbish from the site.

“We would like to hold similar events across Fife, once things start to return to normal, as people may feel more comfortable picking in a group to begin with.”

The champions also believe it’s crucial to get young people involved, which is why they’ve just launched the Junior Street Champions Facebook page.

David explained: “We often come across wooded areas where young people have met up on a nice night and had a bonfire.

“You wouldn’t believe the mess they leave behind – burned trees, bottles and even underwear on occasion.

“Hilary has enlisted her two children and some of the other members take their children and grandchildren litter picking too, most notably Maggie Thomson who is out picking every day.

“My daughter Fiona’s son Euan is only three but even he points out rubbish to me when we’re out on a walk!

“We want to encourage more young people to sign up and we hope the Junior Champions page will inspire them to do so.”

It’s fair to say, though, that it’s not just young people who are responsible for leaving rubbish in their wake. Lorry drivers and dog owners are often repeat offenders too.

David said: “We’ve found bags and bottles of human waste, thrown out by lorry drivers passing through.

“In one horrific case, we came across a sign at Devilla Forest in May which stated that dog owners had killed two horses by chucking their poo bags into the field.

“Horses are attracted to the smell of cereal in the waste – an autopsy on the first horse showed she was full of poo bags.

“We shared it on our site to try to alert dog owners to the consequences.”

David is no longer shocked by things pickers stumble across – condoms and underwear are not unusual. However, having cleared up most of his local area in Glenrothes, a couple of finds in the bushes recently did surprise him.

“I found a can dating from 1997 just round the corner from me,” he said. “I also found a full duvet in the bushes at Riverside Park.

“The council doesn’t have the time or finances to clear all the bushes – that’s why we’re doing it.”

Thanks to volunteer pickers, the litter picture is slowly improving but the champions hope to do more.

David added: “What we need now is more pickers.

“Once lockdown is eased, we want to hold organised events and a picnic so that members can meet up.

“The Bankhead litter pick was a good laugh. We might have gone for a pint after, had the pubs been open! So there’s a social side to it too.”

To sign up, visit the champions page at www.facebook.com/groups/223995881675219.