Eco-Schools get active with David Luke Uniforms as part of the Great British Spring Clean
Last Thursday three Manchester Eco-Schools linked up with staff from our Litter Topic Sponsor David Luke Uniforms to clean up Ardwick, as part of the Great British Spring Clean.
The group, over 40 people in total, were paid a special visit by Keep Britain Tidy’s Litter Heroes Wayne and Koda, who took a detour from their coastal route, coming along to inspire everyone and even helping out with the litter-pick!
The event was supported by Manchester City Council, who worked closely with us to identify key areas that needed some TLC in Ardwick.
Before heading out, Kathryn Shuttleworth, Managing Director of David Luke Uniforms, welcomed everyone to their head offices, speaking about their passion for doing things right by the environment.
Wayne then told his story about the journey he is on and the dangers of litter he is seeing as he goes along. He wants to speak to as many Eco-Schools as possible during his journey, so was delighted to link up with Heald Place Primary, St Augustine’s Primary and The Dean Trust Ardwick for the day.
Everyone then headed out for a very busy 45 minutes, which saw four groups tackling four different areas. In total, they collected a whopping 20 full bags of rubbish. They also made an effort to separate out the plastic bottles for recycling.
David Luke’s Eco-Uniform is made from recycled plastic bottles and since its launch in 2013, they have so far diverted an amazing 20 million plastic bottles from landfill.
The children showed great enthusiasm, passion and commitment. The two primary schools hold the Green Flag award, whilst new school The Dean Trust Ardwick has newly signed up this month, so there was some good Eco-Schools sharing too.
Kathryn, from David Luke Uniforms, said: “Working with schools is important for us and so partnering with Eco-Schools is a great way to do this. We realise there is a litter problem in our local area and so by pulling together we hope we can do something towards solving it. Hopefully our activities as part of the Great British Spring Clean may inspire others in Manchester and beyond to get out more regularly and keep their local communities safe and healthy for all of us.
Wayne said: “I’ve seen a lot of beautiful places on my travels so far, but there’s only been about seven miles of coastline that has been litter-free. Coming into cities, the litter problem is even worse. If we don’t tackle it now – and cleaning up is a great way of showing the negative impact of littering behaviour – the standards of our cities will only decline further.”
“Education is key and so I’m keen to speak to as many young people as possible to get the message out there it’s not OK to litter. The children I met today were brilliant – it was a pleasure to meet them.”
There is still time to enter our Great British Spring Clean art work competition. Head here for details – but get them in ASAP, the deadline is 13th March!
