Stonehaven residents braved the rain armed with litter pickers and gardening tools today to give their town a spring clean.
Led by John Cruickshank, leader of the Stonehaven Horizon Group, volunteers came together as part of The Big Help Out to mark the King’s coronation.
Despite the weather, more than 30 people gathered at the Craw’s Nest to help Paws on Plastic and Plastic Free Stonehaven volunteers clear litter as possible from the beach area.
A number of children were part of the group choosing to spend their day off school tidying up their hometown.
Lord Lieutenant of Kincardineshire, Alastair Macphie, shared a message on behalf of the King before the litter-picking kicked off, congratulating all who turned out on their volunteering efforts.
Those from Stonehaven’s Men Shed, the Fireballs committee and the local paddle-boarding group all met in other areas of the town to scoop up whatever litter they could find.
Members of the Horizon Group took their cleaning supplies to the Market Square to give the town signs and planters a freshen up, while members of the Rotary Club also stopped by the beach to help with the litter-picking and some weeding.
‘The litter picking bug’
In the beach area alone, volunteers picked up almost 40 kilos of litter in just one hour – a mixture of fishing waste and other rubbish.
Marion Montgomery, founder of Paws on Plastic, said The Big Help Out was a good way to get more people involved with litter picking in Stonehaven.
“It’s really a huge community effort,” she said. “We’re just amazed at the turnout, even on a day like this. We had over 30 people turn out and lots of young children too.
“We’re ultimately aiming to get plastic-free status for Stonehaven. We’re getting very close, we’re just looking now to get businesses involved and already have a number committing to being plastic-free.
“We’ve had businesses here this morning, including a B&B owner who now has the litter picking bug. It’s all about helping each other out, simple things really make a difference.”
Doing something for the community
The nationwide day celebrating volunteering has also encouraged a lot of new members to get involved with the beach cleans, which usually take place on the first Saturday of the month.
Mrs Montgomery added: “A lot of new members have found us so it’s been a really good chance to advertise the opportunities and benefits that volunteering brings.
“What the people in the community are saying when they come off the beach is that it has given them a real buzz, it feels great to make a difference and be a part of the community.”
Today’s big spring clean is also part of the town’s efforts to prepare for the rededication ceremony for the town’s war memorial which is scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 20.
The work will continue this evening with another clean-up event at Dunottar Woods for The Big Help Out this evening.
Anyone who would like to take part is asked to meet at the quarry car park at 6.45pm.
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