17/05/2026
M E G A P I C K 8
Today was Mega Pick 8 and the Litter Heros were at Port Clarence. This is the first time we have been there and there is no doubt that we have made a massive difference.
1️⃣0️⃣3️⃣ Bags of litter and rubbish
1 very full skip 🛻
1 bike 🚲
Mattress springs 🛏️
Tyres 🛞
1 TV 📺
Bed sheets 🛏️
Laminate Flooring
A bed frame 🛏️
Lots of wood 🪵
A dolls head 🧸
2 headless gnomes 🧔🏼♂️
2 tins of polish ✨
Horse medication 💊 🐴
Michelle kicked everyone off with a briefing by standing on a bench and was very pleased that getting up and down didn't result in going head over wotsit onto the floor while everyone watched, the heckling from the crowd was very much expected ha ha.
We welcomed Margaret along with her grandchildren who got stuck in, her grandson is already a litter picker but his picker broke so we provided him with a new one, a bag hoop and some gloves - he was very happy. 🧤 😊
Also welcomed along was Leanne who came along as a resident and with involvement at Catalyst Stockton. Thank you for supporting this 💚
Unfortunately one of the Graptor litter pickers had worked so hard that it broke! Man down!
People came along from the other litter groups, they were:
Norton Clean Up Your Act
Thornaby Community Litter Project
Eaglescliffe Community Litter Project
The Wombles of Hambleton
Craig was there representing Cleveland Fire Brigade UK who provided a skip for the event as part of the Arson Reduction Project. There is no doubt that the items that could be used to set fires have been removed from the community and means that it is in a safer state than when we turned up and importantly won't result in an appliance being deployed to an open space fire.
Huge thanks go to Trish Connor from Catalyst Stockton who is the Community Engagement and Development Officer. This is the Connecting The Clarences project funded by The National Lottery. We worked closely on this to make it happen and she contacted the Fire Brigade and engaged with the community via the schools and community groups.
At the end of the litter picking we had our usual cafe offerings which included cake, this was greatly appreciated and delicious. Thank you to Jackie Robertson, Jacky Slack and Nev for baking for us.
Once this was all nearing the end of the event we all enjoyed an ice cream which was from Thors Ice Cream. If anyone ever needs an ice cream then this is the one to visit! Huge thanks to Thor for coming along to support us again. Thanks again to Trish for making the arrangements to cover the costs for the volunteers to have the ice creams, this is so very much appreciated by us all. Thank you.
Finally, today was about loving where you live because if you don’t, why should anyone else?
