Volunteering on the Greenway

The first Greenway Clean-Up back in March was a great success, so it was great to get involved with the View Tube when last week’s clean-up was announced.

The session in March was pretty grey and soggy but November endeavours ended up being the perfect winter’s day; clear blue skies and lovely sunshine to set us in good stead for our morning. A group of local school children joined us and were shown the ‘Poo Pipe’ by Thames Water staff. The children learnt about what lies beneath the Greenway and what they should be putting down the toilet. The 4 P’s: paper, pee, poo and puke. (Apologies to those with weak constitutions!) Once this knowledge was imparted, we all set to work.

It was a collaborative event with staff and partners from Thames Water, London Borough of Newham, Poplar HARCA, Dot Dot Dot, V22 and the View Tube, as well as school children. All together we made up an impressive army of litter pickers. The Greenway around the Viewtube was quite clear already (thanks in large part to our efforts in March), so we worked by the canal and the Greenway access points. Our volunteering team did a super job and we filled more than 30 bags of rubbish in a couple of hours.

One of our own guardians, Zoe, told us, “Volunteering allows me to make more of a difference than I would do alone and it also means I  meet new people. This can be really hard to do in London when everyone is in their own little bubble.”

Whilst the adult volunteers were clearing rubbish, the group of school children set to work clearing lots of fallen leaves that had clogged up our pathways. By midday, things were looking a lot tidier, just in time for tea and cake from the View Tube cafe.

Ted Maxwell, Head of Marketing and Special Projects at Dot Dot Dot Property Guardians, said “We advocate volunteering and getting involved with your local community so we were really pleased to be part of an event that embodies that. It’s brilliant to contribute to the area along with those that we house or may house and we hope it becomes a more regular event.”