Pupils at Eastbury Community School are backing Barking and Dagenham Council’s Cleaner BD campaign through an inspiring environmental project that combines community action with enterprise skills.
The school's Litter Heroes initiative was developed as part of its Social Enterprise Programme, funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). The project challenged pupils to come up with a business idea that would make a positive difference in their community.
As part of the initiative, pupils created their own Litter Heroes packs, containing useful items to help people carry out litter-picking activities in their neighbourhoods.
Members of the School Council recently sold the packs at the school's summer fayre, where they ran their own stall and spoke to visitors about the importance of recycling and keeping streets clean. The team produced 50 packs and sold 40 on the day, raising money to support future environmental projects.
The remaining packs will be sold at the secondary school campus, with pupils hoping to raise around £100 in total. The money will be used to purchase additional litter pickers and bins to support future clean-up activities.
Students have also been carrying out litter picks around the school grounds and surrounding area, helping to tackle litter while encouraging pride in their local environment.
The project has already received recognition, with the pupils receiving a Best Teamwork Award for their creativity, collaboration and commitment to improving their local area.
Councillor Kashif Haroon, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change, said: "The pupils at Eastbury Primary have shown exactly what the Cleaner BD campaign and our It Starts Here message are all about.
"Creating a cleaner borough isn't something the council can do alone – we all have a part to play. Through their Litter Heroes project, these young people are showing how small actions can make a big difference, whether that's picking up litter, recycling more or encouraging others to take pride in their local area.
"They should be incredibly proud of what they have achieved.”
The council is encouraging other schools to come forward and let them know of any similar projects they’re working on, so they can shine the spotlight on them.