What can you do in half term, when the country’s in lockdown and everything is closed? For two West Bridgford schoolgirls, the answer to this question is a sponsored litter pick!
Six-year-old Emily Nichols and her sister, Alice, 8, have decided to spend an hour every day of the February half-term (10 days in total) picking up litter from West Bridgford’s roads, parks and canalside, whilst raising money for Alzheimer’s Society.
The girls set out to raise £100 for the charity and at the time of publishing have reached almost £1,000!
Both girls have taken a keen interest in the environment after learning about recycling and plastic pollution at school.
Whilst they have been out on their lockdown walks they have noticed more and more litter being dropped.
It made Alice so sad that she asked Santa for a litter picker at Christmas.
She has been out cleaning the streets with her parents since then.
But when she found an Alzheimer’s Society donation tin in a cupboard, left over from her mum’s fundraising for last year’s cancelled Edinburgh Marathon, she and her sister came up with a plan to keep busy over half term, help their community and raise some money for a good cause.
The girls started their campaign on Saturday 13 February when they cleared two bags of rubbish from Bridgford park, and all in temperatures of minus 3 degrees Celsius.
They have since cleared another five bags of rubbish from Bridge Field, Central Avenue, Gordon Road, the Croquet Lawn and the area near West Bridgford Infant School.
Alice and Emily chose to raise money for Alzheimer’s Society because they have witnessed how dementia can affect families.
“Our Nana has dementia and we are really worried about her” said Alice. “We want to help scientists to find a cure”.
The girls set out with a target to raise £100 over ten days but their hard work and commitment to the cause have helped them to raise over £800 in just three days.
“When we saw the amount raised so far we felt amazing” said Emily, “we can’t believe it every time someone donates and the total goes up. We are so happy”.
The girls’ parents, Hannah and Jason, said “we are so incredibly proud of the girls. This was all their own idea and we are blown away by both their enterprise and people’s reaction to it”.
The girls will be out in West Bridgford every day until Monday 22 February in their high-viz vests and safety gloves.
They love it when people say hello and talk to them about their challenge, or commit to go out litter picking themselves after seeing what they are doing. If you’d like to donate the link is www.justgiving.com/fundraising/thebiglitterpick
