Andy Johns
10 Apr 2022
A group of like minded people are keeping The Strand in Gillingham free of litter for the community.
The Strand Litter Squad was formed between lockdowns by a group of like-minded locals, with inspiration from Angela and Lorette who run the Gillingham Eco-Hub
Recently, as part of the Great British Spring Clean, we pledged to pick 40 bags of litter over three sundays in April. In total we had 38 volunteers giving up 49 hours of their time.
We exceeded our quota, picking 52 large bags, mattresses, broken fencing, a wooden headboard, satellite dish, tyres, car batteries and – worst of all – used needles. Two sharps boxes full of needles and a 28 inch ”Zombie“ knife plus the new scourge dozens of nitrous canisters.
What a huge effort by the community, which came together in a united cause. But what a huge shame their is so much litter in the Strand car parks which are now also used by fly tippers and drug users.
The estimate is there are at least another 100 sacks to be picked mostly from the banks next to the main road. So sad.
At our last pick we had 22 community members, plus local councillors, making it our largest turn out so far with all age groups present.
An awesome effort by an awesome community who have come together for many different reasons to heal each other and the Strand.