Huge Success For Ealing's Litter Volunteer Group
LAGER Can receives a Queen's Award for voluntary service
Some members of LAGER
at Northala Hills Earth Day Recycling Challenge
Ealing's volunteer litter group, LAGER Can, which has had one its busiest years, has been officially recognised and received a top award.
The Litter Action Group for Ealing Residents, announced today that it has won a Queen's Award for Voluntary Service 2021. This honour is described as the equivalent of an MBE for voluntary groups.
Keith Freegard and members of LAGER can. Picture: Paul James
Keith Freegard, founded LAGER Can in 2017 and the group has grown to more than 1600 members, he said, 'I founded LAGER Can primarily in response to the local litter problem when I was living in Hanwell. I never dreamed that four years later the group would be honoured in this way. It's a great achievement!'
LAGER Can was nominated for a QAVS by Ealing Council's Senior Park Ranger, Vanessa Hampton, who said, 'I'm delighted that LAGER Can and their incredible work have been recognised by this prestigious award. They have such a positive impact: helping to keep Ealing clean and building a network of great people who care about the world they live in.'
Cathy Swift
LAGER Can Administrator, Cathy Swift, said, 'We were delighted by our nomination for the award. At the time of our assessment last November LAGER Can had 875 members. We now have more than 1,600 members, and in the first quarter of 2021 we spent 4,600 volunteer-hours filling the equivalent of 10,900 bags of rubbish, recyclables and large items. Members of LAGER Can tell us that they feel their physical and mental health have been improved by spending time outdoors with like-minded people, improving our environment, and making new friends. Who knew litter picking could be so enjoyable!'
LAGER Can members are supported by nine local representatives in different parts of the Borough. Under the leadership of Northolt representative Grazina (Gracie) Muzikeviciene many large, derelict sites including the White Hart and Target Roundabouts, the Dog Rose Ramble, Islip Manor Meadows, Kittiwake Road and the A40 slip roads have been relieved of many tonnes of rubbish by an enthusiastic team.
LAGER Can is supervising 43 of Duke of Edinburgh Award student litter pickers from 14 schools in the Borough, and works with schools, scouts, cubs and local companies to support their litter picking activities. LAGER Can is supported by Ealing Council's Parks and Street Services, and by its cleansing contractor, Greener Ealing Ltd.
LAGER Can's Earth Day Recycling Challenge aims to raise £5,000 by filling a bag of recyclables for each member by the closing date, 3rd July 2021. Donate here.
The group will also be marking Keep Britain Tidy's Great British Spring Clean, 28th May to 13th June, with its Great Big Southall Clean-up. During the fortnight LAGER Can aims to litter pick every residential street in Southall that is not litter picked daily by Greener Ealing Ltd.
Find LAGER Can on Facebook, @CanLager on Twitter @lagercanealing on Instagram
Annemarie Flanagan
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
2nd June 2021