Lessons taught whilst litter picking in Heywood!

On 22nd October, our staff invited families to meet up and take part in a litter picking event at Queens Park in Heywood. The weather was dry and sunny so perfect for the activity. On arrival at our planned meeting point, we had a talk about health and safety risks as we were walking around a large lake. We discussed what to do if we came across glass or sharp objects and asked that the group all stayed together near to staff and carers. As it was autumn there were lots of leaves and conkers lying on the ground. We explained to the children to leave these as it was not rubbish but was a source of food and shelter for the wildlife such as hedgehogs and squirrels. Each child was given their own set of protective gardening gloves, a high visibility tunic and large bag for any litter and waste they had collected in the park. The children had lots of fun spotting items of rubbish and collecting them up into their plastic bags. The collected empty cans, crisp packets, plastic bottles, wrappers and paper. By the end of the day, we had collected 2 full bags of litter which we left in the bags provided near to the park bins It was a fantastic way to experience this magical time of year with beautiful surroundings, the wonderful colours and help out in the community but it was also a great way to teach our children and young people about the harm littering causes and to respect our wildlife by observing and talking about what they saw e.g. ducks, geese, swans and squirrels. It was also a fantastic chance for them to all socialise in their groups and feel good about themselves!