An eight-year-old boy from Hemel Hempstead has taken litter picking into his own hands.
Last year Jason Evans and son, Ben, were taking their dogs out for a walk when they came across a public alleyway filled with rubbish.
Jason said: “We came out of our back gate into a public alleyway and Ben was shocked with how much litter there was lying about.
“Ben was really concerned that all the rubbish could cause harm to the wildlife or other dogs in the area, so we spent the afternoon clearing up the alleyway.”
It was after this when Ben decided he wanted to take litter picking more seriously and began taking a couple of hours out of his weekends to collect litter around his neighbourhood.
After Ben turned eight, he began taking his hobby seriously and started litter picking for an hour every day after school.
Jason said: “He loves nature and just wants to protect the wildlife and make the streets look better. He would rather be in the garden planting fruit and veg for us to eventually eat or litter picking than being inside.
“And when he occasionally does go on our tablet, he’s on YouTube watching videos on wildlife and dinosaurs.”
Most recently, Jason and Ben applied to become Street Champions after Ben had filled up six recycling bags and eight rubbish bins.
Set up by Dacorum Borough Council, Street Champions is a network of volunteers that help improve their local area.
After filling in a short online registration form, the Council supply litter picking equipment which includes a litter picker, gloves, rubbish sacks and a hi-vis bib.
Jason added: “He is litter picking for an hour almost every day and he’s currently trying to encourage his school and the cubs he attends to get involved.
“This has never been something we’ve encouraged or told Ben to do, if anything, he encourages us to do it, this is all him, he loves it.”
To become a Street Champion, visit dacorum.gov.uk/home/community-living/neighbourhood-action/street-champions
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