I grew up in Lincoln in the 1980s, a time when the Keep Britain Tidy campaigns had made dropping rubbish socially unacceptable and when takeaways were an occasional treat rather than a daily habit. Waste was far less disposable, and people felt a strong sense of responsibility for shared spaces. Growing up in that environment left a lasting impression and shaped how I think about communities, shared responsibility and the way we consume.

I went on to study Mathematics at Birmingham University, living in Selly Oak, where I became increasingly aware of the impact of litter and environmental neglect on local communities. Watching streets regularly trashed left a strong impression on me and reinforced my growing concern about waste, consumption, and anti-social behaviour.

After graduating, I moved to Harrow and began a career in the insurance sector. A few years later, I retrained as a primary school teacher and started working in Harrow's primary schools, enjoying the creativity and variety of the role.

I later had three daughters and took a career break while they were young, working part-time during those years. Throughout this time, I continued my lifelong habit of picking up litter and became increasingly concerned as I watched littering become normalised and waste levels rise.

As the years passed, it became clear that waste and litter in Harrow were not just cosmetic issues but problems with serious consequences for community wellbeing, safety, and pride. At the same time, shrinking local authority budgets meant councils were increasingly stretched. Many people seemed to aspire to move out to areas they believed were cleaner and better cared for, which led me to question why built-up communities were being left behind.

I became convinced that lasting change could not rely on councils alone and that community-led action had to play a central role. In 2021, I joined the Harrow Litter Pickers Facebook group and began posting regularly to see if local momentum could be built. At the time, the group had around 50 members. Today, it has grown to over 1,500 people and is now one of the largest local litter-picking groups in the country.

What sets the group apart is its positive, inclusive approach and its commitment to working collaboratively with the council, police, businesses, schools, and other community organisations. In 2025, Harrow Litter Pickers was officially registered as a charity. I believe the model of community engagement we have developed has the potential to influence change beyond Harrow, particularly in other areas facing challenges around waste, anti-social behaviour, and declining community pride.

To date, the group has removed nearly 100 knives from Harrow's streets and continues to tackle some of the borough's most challenging locations, demonstrating the powerful impact that community-led action can have in creating safer, cleaner, and more connected neighbourhoods.

Coming soon....

I've lived in the London Borough of Harrow for almost two decades. I took a career break from advising other people on employment law and HR management to focus on raising my own family and navigating the world of parenting, whilst also volunteering in schools, churches, a newly formed Beavers colony and fundraising for different charities in my spare time.

From a young age, I've always enjoyed caring for and respecting our environment and was partial to a spot of home gardening, mainly growing vegetables. A few years ago, I came across the Harrow Litter Pickers group by chance on social media. The group were running a series of events to clean-up every street in the area I called home. I'd always wanted to get my family involved in something like this - occasional, light, local litter-picking, so this was perfect and off we went to our first litter picking and planting event. We didn't know anyone who was part of the group before, so it was all very new to us - the people, the litter-picking concept and the magnitude of the environmental and anti-social behavioural issues. Sadly, the view from outside our home and the area in general was of constant fly-tipping, litter, rubbish and anti-social behaviour. Could I just stand back and accept this as normality in 2023? No.

As we attended more group events, our eyes were widely opened and we began to really understand the scale of the issues and we did our bit to help tackle these - meeting such hardworking, dedicated, humoured and like-minded volunteers along the way who were all part of the well-organised and committed HLP group. We all wanted to play a part and seek solutions to much wider societal problems - and I'm not talking about the number of people who discard their pants on the streets, alleyways and in parks across Harrow!

Several months later, I helped to organise community clean-up events to turn a grot-spot, heavily fly-tipped, neglected and overgrown service road, into a cleaner, safer, accessible and cared for space. Driven by the local community, with HLP volunteer support, what was an eyesore for many years has slowly turned into an oasis over time with the creation and expansion of the Rayners Lane Community Garden project - as at December 2025, HLP's first multi-award-winning garden.

I'm not entirely sure how it happened, but the days of occasional light local litter-picking are a distant memory now. I'm no expert or professional in environmental or horticultural matters - I do what I can, when I can to help improve shared spaces for everyone to enjoy. I care deeply and passionately about wanting to live and raise a family in a cleaner and safer environment - deeply enough to want to take action and help others do the same and I'm proud to serve as a new Trustee for this charity.

I have lived in Harrow since 1990.

My interest in the environment & conservation began more than 50 years ago. I have always loved to reuse, recycle, and reduce. I grew up in North Carolina and attended the State University of New York, where I studied Geology which was a great subject for me as I prefer being outdoors looking at nature or cleaning up the environment. When children came along, I retrained and became an academic librarian and worked at UCL, Imperial College and, finally, Brunel University.

Now retired, I am free to volunteer as a local nature warden running practical sessions at Newton Farm Ecology Park on Rayners Lane, as well as being the London Natural History Society Librarian (Volunteer), and the Harrow Heritage Trust / Harrow Nature Conservation Forum (HNCF) Treasurer. I have been involved with the HNCF volunteers who help in Harrow Nature Reserves for 20+ years.

Visiting and working in Harrow green spaces has always involved picking up litter. In the early years, this was usually not more than you could carry in your hand or in a pocket however, somewhere in the last 10 years, I noticed that if I hadn't brought a bag, I was forced to leave litter behind as I couldn't carry it all. Now, a bag and a litter picker are a necessity for going on a walk. Litter has become ubiquitous, and you can't escape from it by taking a stroll in green spaces anymore.

I often wondered how we progressed to being a throwaway society, and how I might help change that fact. When I became aware of the work of Harrow Litter Pickers, I wanted to help in any way I could because they don't want to “just” pick up the litter but also want to work on solutions to the throwaway society, political as well as practical.

I was born and raised in Harrow, and it has always been home to me. My entire working life was spent in retail banking, where I progressed to the role of Operational Manager before retiring. That background naturally gave me a strong appreciation for order, safety, and well-run environments, which in turn sparked my interest in the clearance of debris and litter to help maintain healthy, safe public spaces.

Giving something back to the community has always been an ambition of mine, and retirement provided the perfect opportunity to do just that. I had seen individuals and small groups litter picking locally and was keen to get involved, trying various ways to participate, though initially without success.

Then, by happy chance, I came across a Facebook post by my local MP highlighting the work of Harrow Litter Pickers, complete with a link to the group. I applied to join straight away and haven't looked back since. Becoming part of Harrow Litter Pickers has allowed me to combine my lifelong connection to the borough with my desire to make a positive, practical difference to the community I care so deeply about.

I was born in Pinner and grew up here, hence I try to protect the area as best I can. I first noticed how bad things were on a Boxing Day walk along Cheney Street / Joel Street and by the end of the walk it really felt like something was very wrong. I decided to take direct action, and asked for a litter picker for my birthday.

I had no clue what I was doing, but I started cleaning up the River Pinn near my house. After the first attempt I literally couldn't understand that even after removing five or six bags of waste I had only gone a few metres from where I started. The scale of the problem really hit home, and once I understood what was needed I kept going back. Each time I had to dispose of the bags at the council tip in Rickmansworth (driving with the windows down), but eventually I managed to clean up a section of the Celandine Route. From there, I started the occasional foray in to other areas (Ebury Way, Rickmansworth and the Grand Union Canal Rickmansworth) and began to understand the problems are from nature's perspective, potentially catastrophic.

By chance I discovered I wasn't alone, and joined the Hillingdon Litter Pickers Facebook group, then later the Harrow Litter Pickers Facebook group. Each post was a positive, and a step in the right direction. Above all it gave me hope, which at the beginning of my journey when I learnt how things had become, was almost non-existent. I started to join or set up 'events' and in parallel my fitness has been improving.

To my mind, we can't ignore what is happening. We need to protect the environment, the rivers, the parks, the green spaces and the streets where we live. I hope anyone reading these words will understand why things have to change, and perhaps inspire others to join in. The one thing Harrow Litter Pickers has taught me, is that the scale of the problem is so large hundreds of people are needed to help make things better. Most people want a clean and safe environment, it's very easy to become part of the solution. If everyone fought their corner where they live, the corners will join up and the burden will reduce as more and more volunteers join in and before we know it, things will change for the better.

I've lived in Harrow for most of my life, and whether it be through my work in libraries & education or volunteering, it's always been important to me to contribute positively to my local community. I enjoy being active outdoors and have long had an interest in nature and the environment, after spending more time outside in local nature reserves and green spaces during covid lockdowns I was keen to get more involved in their care and upkeep (which also led me to volunteering with Harrow Nature Conservation Forum).

In recent years I've become increasingly aware of the problems of littering and fly-tipping, and wanted to do something about it. Joining Harrow Litter Pickers in 2021 has given me the opportunity to make a real difference to my community, and I take great pride in being part of a team of such proactive volunteers who care about making real change and taking pride in where we live, I have made real friendships through being part of HLP and litter picking definitely benefits my both my physical and mental well-being, as well as having tangible benefits for my local area that I care deeply about.

The work of Harrow Litter Pickers really demonstrates to power of like-minded people coming together to make a positive impact on the environment for both people and wildlife, I am proud to encourage and support this vital work in my role of trustee for this charity.

Originally from Romania, I've lived in Harrow since 2021, when I also joined Harrow Litter Pickers.

I grew up in a largely litter-free time and place, when one wouldn't be afraid to walk barefoot on a nature trail, or let their children explore the wild areas of a park. That world is largely gone now, so at a base level, all I really want is to put up a good fight against this situation.

Like most people, I used to have a mental barrier that prevented me from recognising a very simple but powerful idea: There's nothing stopping you from cleaning up where you live. All you need is a pair of gloves and a bag.

What did it for me was randomly watching someone litter-picking a street in New York City during the pandemic. I immediately wanted to do the same, so I put on some gloves, went outside, and filmed my first-ever litter-pick, then uploaded the video to YouTube. I liked it, and kept doing it.