MORE than fifty litter heroes, including twenty children, braved the cold weather last Saturday (15 January) afternoon to help clean up the Fairfield recreation ground in Kingston town centre.

Volunteers from Kingston and Norbiton took part in the hour-long litter pick, the first of its kind on the field and supported by local pub the Albion with free teas and coffees for volunteers.

A discarded picnic blanket, car wing mirror, hub cap, sand bag, traffic cone and a solitary flip flop were among the nine large bags of litter that the volunteers collected.

Simone Kay, of Simone Kay Stained Glass on Hawks Road, created a watercolour drawing of the litter-pickers while they worked.

Due to the enthusiasm among the volunteers another event has been organised for 19 March from 2-3pm.

Two residents groups, Sunflower Streets and Tricorn, led the pick and there was a big turn-out from neighbouring streets and members of the Methodist Church on Fairfield South, according to volunteer Suzanne Buckingham.

Suzanne, from Sunflower Streets, picked litter and took photos at the event.

She told Nub News: "Given the pandemic helped more people wake up to the Fairfield delights on their doorstep, and in the absence of a formal 'Friends of Fairfield' group, the informal alliance of local residents thought it might be a nice way to inspire a bit more local pride from park users young and old."

She added: "In fact, it was clear from our conversations on the day how well used the park is by people living across Kingston (with Norbiton, Grove, St Mark's, Canbury and Coombe Hill wards all well represented, plus a few Surbiton residents joining in too) – so not just the streets on Fairfield's doorstep, as some people might assume.

"Uncertain of how many people might like to get involved, we decided to test the waters by starting with a one-hour event on Saturday 15 January from 2-3pm.

"It was a really lovely atmosphere, with over 35 adults of all ages and at least 20 children braving the chilly winter weather to support the event.

"From our conversations it soon became clear that people were keen to do this more regularly, so the next event was swiftly confirmed in two months' time – Saturday 19 March, from 2-3pm.

"The event was supported by local councillor Jon Tolley and RBK, who arranged for the rubbish to be collected, and who will continue to be involved with future litter picks."

She concluded: "It was particularly touching to see how many of our younger litter-pickers were inspired to keep their community clean, with several people telling us their kids had continued to collect litter on their way home afterwards!"

For more information about the next litter pick, contact [email protected].