Author Archives: Neil Frost

Many of us like some hot action in the woods. Today we all got it. Six of us litterpicking in the cruising area.

Having met at the corner of the Snaresbrook Road car park we headed off into the woods, the intention being to empty the rubbish bags and bin and pick up litter on the ground and in the bushes.

There were plenty of tissues to pick up in some of the hotspots. Such a shame that some guys don’t use the litter sacks and bins around the place.

Hot work. And strange what we find in the woods. Maybe someone was looking for a long screw(thread)?

Between the six of us we covered all of the hotspots and the areas in between. It was good to be thanked by several passers-by for the litterpicking we do.

 Having done all we could in those hot temperatures it was time to stop and have some refreshments. Cold drinks were appreciated! 

After a bit of a chat we’d had enough of litterpicking in this hot weather and it was time to tie up the bags and place them at the roadside ready for collection by the Epping Forest Rangers.

Today we’d collected the equivalent of 22 of our small-sized bags.

Plus 34 collected by our Solo OWLS, giving a total this month of 56 bags of litter.

By way of an explanation, why do we refer to ‘the equivalent of our small-sized bags’?? When OWL started we used much smaller rubbish sacks. We still use them in the Hot Spots to make it easy for guys to get rid of unwanted sexual debris. When we changed over to the larger sacks for collecting litter (much easier to use) we wanted to be able to compare our current days’  hauls with previous sessions. To make fair comparisons we needed to use one measuring system. Hence the ‘small bag equivalent’. Or ‘SBE’ in OWL jargon.

                    Please note that we respect everyone’s right to anonymity and only show pics of those willing to have them posted. There might have been more OWL volunteers taking part than are in the above pictures.

No inferences should be drawn from anyone’s participation in an OWL litterpicking session.

Volunteers’ Week. And thankfully six of our finest volunteers turned up for today’s OWL litterpick.

 Health and Safety briefing over we headed off, two teams in two directions, to clean up the cruising ground.

The bin we’ve installed gets good use. Much better to throw rubbish in the bin than chuck it on the ground. Thanks to those who use the bin.

There has been some serious growth since last month’s OWL litterpick. Including in the vegetation. So the trusty trimmer was in use. If you want your bush trimmed this is the gadget to use!

Some overgrown paths are now free to use.

Sadly the battery ran out before all paths could be opened up. We’ll be back.

In the meantime litterpicking continued.

Until it was time to take a break and have some refreshments.

Then for some of us back for more. There was no lack of litter.

Finally bags tied up and placed by the road ready for collection.

The sack-count this month? The equivalent of 23 sacksful collected today. Plus 32 collected by our solo litterpickers. Making a total this month of 55 sacksful of litter.

Please note that we respect everyone’s right to anonymity and only show pics of those willing to have them posted. There might have been more OWL volunteers taking part than are in the above pictures.

No inferences should be drawn from anyone’s participation in an OWL litterpicking session.

Another excellent OWL litterpick today.

As usual we headed out to deal with different areas of the cruising ground.

It’s such a pity that some guys just dump their rubbish rather than put it in a nearby bin.

Not just litterpicking but also trimming back vegetation to make paths useable.

Good to see that the bin we’ve installed is well-used.

Work continued through the woods.

Until it was time for refreshments.  Always good to have a friendly chat together.

Then some of us stayed to do a bit more in the remoter areas of the cruising ground.

Someone’s come well-prepared. But we would recommend a water or silicon-based lube!

Eventually, with more full bags, time to return to base to put the bags by the road ready for collection. The equivalent of 19 of our standard-sized bags. Plus 34 collected by our solo litterpickers over the last month, giving a total for this month of 53 bags.

Please note that we respect everyone’s right to anonymity and only show pics of those willing to have them posted. There might have been more OWL volunteers taking part than are in the above pictures.

No inferences should be drawn from anyone’s participation in an OWL litterpicking session.

A sunny day and a walk in the woods! What’s not to like?

Just four litter-picking volunteers today – but all skilled and three of them able-bodied!

It’s Spring! Someone’s come well-prepared for multiple sessions!

Our keen volunteers dealt with the litter and sexual debris both sides of the car park, eventually returning with multiple full sacks. We’ve added some extra rubbish sacks to an area being more frequently used for crusing than before.

Then time for a break, refreshments and a bit of a chat.

Time to be off for more litter-collecting, dealing with areas further away. Someone seems to have misinterpreted the ‘bring some poppers’ message!

Then back to base one more time, with the sacks being placed on the road for collection. Today’s haul equates to 22 of our standard size rubbish sacks.

In the last month our brilliant ‘solo’ volunteers have been out and about regularly. The equivalent of 41 standard-size sacks collected by them. Giving a grand total of 63 sacks of litter in just over a month. Amazing!

 Please note that we respect everyone’s right to anonymity and only show pics of those willing to have them posted. There might have been more OWL volunteers taking part than are in the above pictures.

No inferences should be drawn from anyone’s participation in an OWL litterpicking session.

A great day for litterpicking and a good team of five volunteers to do it.

 Safety briefing over we headed off in two teams.

Although much of the area has been cleared of vegetation we OWLs know where to look!

Whether it’s in the bin or on the ground it gets collected. (such a pity that some guys can’t see that there’s a rubbish bag right beside where they carelessly chuck their litter).

Someone’s doing some advertising….

(PLEASE NOTE: The display of this sign on the OWL website does not indicate a recommendation or endorsement by OWL!)

With the entire area having been cleared, time to return to Base.

And to enjoy a chat and some well-earned refreshments.

Then simply the task of placing the bags at the roadside ready for collection.

Our total today – the equivalent of 17 of our standard-size rubbish sacks. Plus 29 collected by our solo litterpickers. Giving a total of 46 since our last OWL litterpick.

 Please note that we respect everyone’s right to anonymity and only show pics of those willing to have them posted. There might have been more OWL volunteers taking part than are in the above pictures.

No inferences should be drawn from anyone’s participation in an OWL litterpicking session.