Lockdown Litter Picks - How Redcar residents are looking after our town during Lockdown

We were contacted by a  member of the local Wildlife Trust to see what we thought of supporting the idea of #lockdownlitterpicks in Redcar.  The idea was that over half term, residents could take part in this cheap and cheerful activity (following current Government guidelines of course) as part of their daily exercise and ultimately be part of a bigger team effort to tidy up our town.  

The residents of Redcar did not disappoint, and many took part in this small but significant activity. There are examples of the excellent work carried out on our Friends of Redcar facebook page.  

We miss our group litter picks; the chance to spend time with others, to talk and make a real difference to our local environment.

We look forward to being able to continue our community litter picks in the near future, but for now we just wanted to acknowledge all those who took part and say keep up the good work.  Love❤ Redcar.

South Gare Fly Tipping and FRED Litter Pick

The South Gare in Redcar was looking horrific until a social action with support from Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council cleared over a tonne of dropped, blown and fly tipped rubbish this Hallows Eve.

Some volunteers even took bags of the ghastly collected waste away in the back of their own vehicles direct to the Warrenby waste depot, in an attempt to brighten up what is an environmental beauty spot where visitors come from all over the North East to fish, walk and generally relax away from it all.

Carl Quartermain, Founder and organiser of FRED and RCBC Cabinet Member for Jobs, Skills and Leisure said, "Moving forward it is clear that more needs to be done to protect this area from the criminality of fly tipping and discarding litter and therefore I shall be writing to the landowner to discuss how best we go about this historic problem. One thing is clear this is private property and if RCBC are to continue providing crews to clean up fly tipping out of necessity, we as an authority should also be providing an invoice to pay for the collection service too.

Speaking about FRED and the community action he added,

"I'd like to thank the 30+ FRED Volunteers, Surfers Against Sewage Volunteers and the RCBC crew for clearing up. We also received sausage rolls courtesy of Greggs in Whitley Bay."

"I'm very proud to say that since FRED was formed we have been joined by over 250 individuals from Redcar and beyond many who continually return and have worked in various locations with numerous authorities, social enterprises, businesses and other community groups who care about where and how they live.

"There is great community spirit in Redcar that have vocalised for years, the need for direction in regard to these concerns. Groups like FRED can provide that direction and the enablement to act wherever there is a need to. Today's litter pick was called in by James Gilbert working in collaboration with Surfers Against Sewage. He asked for support and we provided it.

"While we do have our set litter picks monthly on the beach, ANYONE can call in a community enhancement action and we'll help by promoting it and providing the equipment if needs be. This is the beauty of having a 'Friends of Redcar' group - It collaborates, belongs to all of us and is not exclusive to doing its own thing or even simply litter picks."

If you wish to get involved with FRED contact friendsofredcar@gmail.com or call Carl at 07966 985 444

FRED and NCS project for Coatham Dunes

Our March 2016 litter/rubble pick was supported by the National Citizen Service and Imagineyoucan. Here's a video clip done by the students to promote FRED and Redcar.

https://vimeo.com/163071801

The NCS assist the community with projects and they contacted us because they were impressed with the work FRED do to improve Redcar. They wanted to highlight what we do, lend a helping hand and help us bring awareness to the problematic Coatham Dunes at Majuba beach in Redcar.

This began in earnest with FRED meeting with the NCS students at Macmillan College to be interviewed about what we do and why.

The students have been busy producing  a documented video, promotional material and media article focussing on FREDs work in Redcar and this included being interviewed by Neil Green on BBC Radio Tees and Jeremy Gartland on Zetland FM as well as filming and interviewing residents and volunteers over two weekends.

https://vimeo.com/156834495

The NCS joined FRED on the 6th March to help us clean up Majuba beach entrance and the Coatham Dunes. 

Here is a clip showing the kinds of activity the students at NCS get up to plus more of the effort they brought to Redcar.  

https://vimeo.com/163071802

The FRED / NCS project ended in a graduation ceremony where the students received recognition of the media skills they have learnt and the support they have provided.

FRED would like to extend our thanks for all the love and effort shown by these guys and girls and we wish them all the best for their career choices. (If any of you need a reference please contact me - Carl Quartermain Chairman).

Hope to see you all on the beach. Check out the final clip of a successful project. 

https://vimeo.com/163071803

Cheers!

If you would like more information on the NCS go to http://www.ncsyes.co.uk/

or contact Dave King http://www.imagineyoucan.tv/ 

Tel: 01287 650528 

Email: ncs@imagineyoucan.tv

Fred and NCS on the March in March 2016

This month we focused attention on the Coatham Dunes clearing away litter and masonry from on and around the area. Once again there is lots of smashed glass from the miscreants that end up here when it is quiet. There is also more masonry being revealed from the dissipation of the sand. This is something a lot more serious as you'll find in our other blogs on the subject. The dunes are adjacent to a caravan park that offers access to visiting children to play here. It's not much different to a building site though thinly covered in sand. Please sign our petition

Thanks to the great support from our friends at FRED and The National Citizen Service, here in Redcar we have got off to a great start this year. Not only did we see 50+ residents and visitors clearing the beach of litter and detritus but also we were able to draw attention back on those dangerous debris ridden, Coatham Dunes. 

Thank you to all those who took part in what was a healthy collection of volunteers of all ages. Particularly pleasing it was to see so many youth, teenagers and children taking part and learning from what is a valuable educational experience. Well done to you all and special thanks to Dave King of ImagineYouCan (NCS) for their physical support and Paul Kitchener of Peak Image Photography for the excellent images