Teams spruce up Northampton park with 'day of action' of litterpicking and canopy clearing

A team effort was pulled off to spruce up a Northampton park by clearing it of litter and woody green waste.

Northampton Borough Council, idverde and the Friends of Eastfield Park came together for a day of action on October 29 to help give the park a fresh face.

They worked to open up a particularly dark area of the lake and making it more inviting to walk by clearing the embankment of scrub.

The teams also reduced the height of a number of self-set weed trees on the banks of the lake offering a clearer view across the water and removed rubbish and litter from the ponds.

As part of this day of action the council’s community safety and engagement team undertook an education exercise by delivering letters to residents in the local area regarding unauthorised activities within the park.

Councillor Mike Hallam, cabinet member for environment, said: “Many of our parks have friends groups who really complement the work carried out by Borough Council’s park rangers, neighbourhood wardens and contractors.

“Northampton’s friends of parks groups are undertaking a huge amount of hard work, touching all parts of the community and this day of action is a testament of the commitment and the impact that our groups have on the local community.

“I want to thank everyone who took part in this day of action and I want to invite everyone in our community to set a good example by clearing up after themselves, taking litter home if public bins are full and keep reporting instances of littering as they occur to raise awareness and change behaviour.”

Nicola Clarke, idverde’s Community Engagement Officer, added: “It is really lovely to see everyone working together to help the Friends of Eastfield Park achieve their goals with the aim of improving the park for all of the local community to enjoy.”

Vic Smith, Chair of The Friends of Eastfield Park, said: “It was great to get so much done in a relatively short period of time. This was only possible because the various agencies worked together in such an efficient manner.”