During 2022 a local Begrook resident who was passionate about walking and keeping her local area litter free decided to embark on the journey towards setting up her own litter picking group.
Hazel is a resident of Begbrook, a quiet community sandwiched between the M32 and Snuff Mills and the River Frome. She has lived in the area for around 10 years and recently started attending a weekly coffee morning at Stapleton Baptist Church. It was there I met her and her partner Mike among the assortment of dog walkers, regular church goers and mostly older local residents that religiously attend this friendly and open social activity, the only one of its kind in the area.
On talking to Hazel I discovered her love of walking in nature and green spaces, an activity she deems essential self-care in managing her mental health. During her ‘walks in the woods’, however, she was fed up of ‘seeing so much litter everywhere’ and joked about starting a litter picking group so she ‘didn’t have to live in a bin’.
Hazel is a recovering addict and alcoholic and recently celebrated 25 years clean and 3 months dry. She suffers from significant mental health issues including being bipolar, having a personality disorder, hearing voices, and having suicidal thoughts. These challenges led to her being sectioned around 5 years ago and she has been rebuilding her resilience ever since.
‘My voices tell me I’m worthless and that I can’t achieve things but since becoming more involved in the church my confidence has grown and it didn’t take much encouragement from Dan for me to explore the idea of making my initial joke about setting up a litter picking group into a reality. Dan supported me to develop my ideas and apply for a local grant for the funds to buy the equipment, helping me to overcome my literacy barrier to fill in the application form. When the deliveries started to arrive at my door it really hit home that it was actually happening.’
Upon hearing of her success, I then worked with her to set up an online shopping account and make her first ever online purchases to gather together the picking equipment and PPE needed to get started. Some of this equipment was also provided by the Community Champion at the local Morrisons in Fishponds, a connection I helped her make to lower her costs. I have also supported her to promote the group on social media and she has independently designed a flyer to advertise locally.
After a few false starts, the first session took place on a brisk November morning between heavy showers. There were three of us picking and we started in Snuff Mills and then did a bit up on Frenchay Park Road and round the bottom of Ham Lane. We filled fill two big bags of recycling and one of general waste and celebrated back at the Church afterwards with a cup of tea. This social element is an important part of the group and Hazel hopes that people coming along may event begin staying for an afternoon of games that takes place at the Church every Thursday.
Since starting the journey of setting up the Begbrook Litter Pickers Hazel has been feeling much more positive. ‘This is the first time I have organised anything in my life. I have been scared of attending groups in the past as I was worried what people would think of me. Since attending the church and setting up this group my mental health has improved significantly and I hear less voices and am feeling a real sense of personal achievement.’
The second session took place a month later and word had spread from some social media postings I did after the first session which were picked up and promoted by Bristol Waste’s Community Engagement Officer, Naomi Davis. As a result Hazel and Mike were joined, not only by Naomi, but by some corporate volunteers from Hargreaves Lansdown and the local councillor, Cllr Amal Ali. Beatrice, the pastor of Stapleton Baptist Church also joined to support Hazel and Mike in thanks for their volunteering at the church helping to run regular social events for local residents. With the extra support the group managed to fill 5 big bags of rubbish this time. Momentum was building.
Joining the Begbrook Litter Pickers for their first two sessions was a hugely satisfying experience for me and Hazel was also buzzing with excitement. She was super proud of seeing the fruition of ‘the first thing she has ever organised’ and when asked how she felt after the success of the sessions, Hazel replied, ‘enlightened!’. If her enthusiasm is anything to go by, Begbrook is going to be a much cleaner neighbourhood in the years ahead.
