The nature of Leagrave park was getting set for spring, with the irises peeping up in the marshy areas, blossom on the trees and ducks checking out nesting spots. So, it was the last chance to get out there with the litterpickers and stash the trash in our bags before it all gets hidden under a new leafy green blanket.

24 bags, plus a trolley and two bike tyres, were the total haul of the team today, leaving the river, the hedgerows, the paths and fields of the park bright and clear of unsightly rubbish and ready for a spring with hopefully similarly bright and clear weather for a change!

It might have also been a certain Area Activators 500th good deed! Plenty of cake was harmed in the making of this good deed 😄

This week's group run took us to Manor Park for a litterpick. The river Lea runs through this park and was the focus of our efforts as there was a lot of litter collected in the bushes between the road and the river, and quite a bit washed up on the river bank from recent high waters.

With a small team of 4 we collected an impressive 12 large bags of rubbish as well as a buggy and a hubcap from a thorough rummage in the bushes.

Leaving the area looking satisfyingly cleaner and ready for spring nesting 🦆 🪹 🕊️ without all the litter, we finished our session with a well-paced run back to our start point.

The Grasmere Nursery School called us up with a request to help empty their sandpit for a refresh with new sand.

So, in less than ideal weather we set off on a 5km run out to the school, joined by a sprinkling of light rain.

We arrived in good time after a good consistent endurance-paced run to the nursery. The sand, thanks to the rain, was wet and compacted, really hard to scrape up and into the barrows to shift out to the skip.

Getting the barrows up the ramp into the skip was the heaviest job, but working together to spread the load ensured we got the sand into the skip safely.

When time was up at the task, we headed off into the weather again, a gentle run back into town keeping us warm as the cold wind pushed back!