North East Lincolnshire Council is keeping its fingers crossed for the Green Influencers as they head to the finals of the Keep Britain Tidy Awards.
The Grimsby and Cleethorpes-based group of 10 to 14-year-olds are in the final three of the Young #LitterHeroes category in the environmental charity’s national awards.
The Young Litter Heroes Award celebrates an outstanding contribution by an individual or group of young people that has demonstrated commitment to the local environment and reducing litter.
Members of the Green Influencers are making a difference in their community by representing young people who care about the environment.
They organise events for other young people and their families and have made huge strides towards supporting the area by organising gardening activities, litter picks and river cleans as well as designing posters and crafting doggy bag holders to combat dog fouling problems.
Green Influencers is a national project led by Ernest Cook Trust funded through the #iwill Fund, which is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund and Department of Culture, Media & Sport. The local group was started by Voluntary Action North East Lincolnshire (VANEL), who provide a Green Mentor to support the young people.
They often meet online or at the Grimsby in Bloom café in Duke of York Gardens and Reynolds Children Centre in Cleethorpes.
What is really special about Green Influencers’ Scheme is that it gives young people a chance to lead the way, help, encourage and support each other and offer the chance to learn through hands-on outdoor activities.
They take on social action projects to protect and enhance the local environment and tackle climate change. Their efforts to make environmental improvements for their local communities has seen them reach the finals in this year’s Keep Britain Tidy Awards.
If you are aged between 10-14 and would like to get involved in local environmental projects, please contact [email protected] to join the Green Influencers group.
Cllr Stewart Swinburn, portfolio holder for Environment and Transport at North East Lincolnshire Council, said:
“The Green Influencers are an inspiration to us all. It’s a huge achievement for them to reach the final of the Keep Britain Tidy Awards and we wish them every success at the ceremony.
“North East Lincolnshire is a better place because of the work they do and we’re all immensely proud of them.”
Jenny Hodson, Green Mentor at VANEL, said:
“I am so proud of the work the young people locally do with their understanding of their communities and being strong enough to be seen out there cleaning and tidying their local streets and parks.
“Young people are so passionate about the future of their town and I am honoured that they allow me to support them.”
Keep Britain Tidy’s Chief Executive, Allison Ogden-Newton, said:
“I would like to congratulate North East Lincolnshire’s Green Influencers on being shortlisted for one of our annual awards.
“We know that people want to live in places that are clean and tidy and local authorities, and their communities, have a massive role to play in this and should rightly be recognised for their efforts.
“We are thrilled that so many authorities entered our awards and, again, the standard was incredibly high. We look forward to seeing representatives from North East Lincolnshire Council and the Green Influencers group at our awards ceremony in Birmingham in February.”
The Keep Britain Tidy Awards will be presented at the charity’s annual Network Conference at the Birmingham Hilton Metropole hotel on Thursday 10 February 2022.
Share this article