Children in Lochwinnoch proved they are the pick of the litter as they got their bibs on and grabbed some bin bags to take part in a clean-up project.

Around 30 youngsters from Lochwinnoch Early Learning and Childcare Class (ELCC) staged the sponsored litter-pick on Thursday to help keep their community looking spick and span.

The aim was to help the kids develop an understanding of looking after the environment and also raise funds for their end-of-term street party and graduation.

Angela Ross, ELCC depute head, said the day out helped to make sure the children are invested in the upkeep of their local area.

She told The Gazette: “To continue the fabulous work of our new ELCC team this year, we have become eco-warriors through learning about how important it is that we do our best to reduce, reuse and recycle our rubbish.

“We have also been learning how to grow our own food, with the support of our new community garden within the school grounds, and about our responsibility to keep our community clean through a sponsored litter-pick.

“Collectively, we hope this will help to instil an early responsibility of citizenship.”
Sandra Brackenridge, who is also a depute head at Lochwinnoch ELCC, said the children at the nursery enjoyed the chance to embrace nature.

She added: “Being outdoors in Lochwinnoch is a marvellous place to be and it’s important to teach children to look after their community.

“We’ve started trying to grow our own veg in the community garden to promote sustainability and we’ve got one wee boy who has now become a vegetarian of his own volition.

“His mum and dad aren’t vegetarians – he’s just said that it’s what he wants to do to look after animals.”

The event was supported by Renfrewshire Council, which provided all of the necessary equipment as part of its Team Up to Clean Up campaign.

Councillor Cathy McEwan, convener of Renfrewshire’s infrastructure, land and environment policy board, said: “It’s fantastic to see the enthusiasm of our early years children who recognise that littering is wrong and want to make a difference to their community.

“It’s all our responsibility to ensure that we do whatever we can to keep our communities clean and our children are learning from a young age to put their litter in the bin, as it can hurt the environment if they don’t.

“Our Team Up to Clean Up campaign continues to go from strength to strength and I would encourage everyone who can to get involved in helping to make Renfrewshire a better place to live, work and visit.”