Author Archives: Neil Frost

A change of day this month (we usually litterpick on the second Tuesday of the month), but it suited our lovely band of volunteers, all of whom were there at the start, or soon after as a result of heavy traffic, to get stuck in to some serious work.

Safety briefing over, we seemed to go our separate ways rather more than usual. This was potentially going to be a ‘lone working’ litterpick. During the morning we came across a number of items possibly more diverse than we’ve seen lately. More of that later.

It wasn’t long before our OWLs were filling their sacks with litter ranging from litter that anyone might have thrown away to items that it seemed obvious would only have been discarded by guys cruising in the woods.

lovingly handmade – but not so lovingly discarded

Lost a phone? The case is still there – ironically near the fuck tree where many must stop dreaming and experience reality.

Sadly there was no phone inside.

Good progress was made with a few of our group eventually joining up and working together.

Good to see that ‘a packet of three’ is still in use!

Then, with time the enemy marching on, we were ready for a break from litterpicking and time for the traditional refreshments.

After our break – during which there are always interesting and humorous tales recounted – it was off for more, with our excellent volunteers ensuring that they covered as much of the area, including as many of the ‘hotspots’, as possible.

Rubbish sacks we’ve left in some of the hotspots are being well-used and needing occasional replacement.

We are used to finding unusual items – though in this case it begs the question – Is this unusual for this location?

sadly the batteries were flat!

Lost some car keys? Might these be yours? They are (were) on the top of the litter bin in the car park.

All good things must come to an end – although so keen was one of our volunteers that we had to go searching for him. (And he’s taken some litter sacks and a litter picker so that he can do some more work before our next ‘official’ OWL litterpick).

What a fantastic total – a record-breaker – the equivalent of 52 of our usual-size rubbish sacks, including 21 bags of recycling.

 (Please note, we respect everyone’s right to anonymity and only show pics of those willing to have them posted. No inferences should be drawn from anyone’s participation in an OWL litterpicking session)

We were missing some of our ‘regulars’, but we made up for it with some ‘extras’. And we were joined briefly at the start by one of our founders who helpfully stocked us up with some extra supplies.

Huge thanks to everyone who took part in the event today, our regular August litterpick.

It was more of what we usually do, really. We progressed round and through the usual ‘hotspots’, picking up the usual range of litter and debris: cans, plastic bottles and glass bottles which went in the recycling bags, and condoms, condom foils, lube sachets, tissues and wet wipes in the ‘general rubbish’ bags.

With tenacious volunteers we know that we can be sure of the cleanest of litter picks. We want the woods to be good for everyone who uses them for whatever reason. Many, especially those with children, will view used condoms and the other sexual debris as offensive and that can lead to complaints. We want to avoid that so that horny cruising can go on uninterrupted.

Some of us know most of the ‘hotspots’ and it’s good to introduce others to them (strictly in the process of litterpicking, of course!). Soon we were amassing our loads.

There comes a point in our litterpicking sessions when we’ve collected so much litter that unless we return to the car park we’ll have to leave some of the sacks behind. So we do, and of course that’s a good opportunity to have a break for tea and coffee.

Always a good time to continue the banter. And to welcome another occasional litter-picker, and say farewell to one of our number who had to leave.

Then onward, with two groups heading off in different directions, aiming to get to the parts previous litterpickers hadn’t reached. We ranged far and wide. Again it was good to see that many of the bags we’ve left hanging on trees were being well-used. It still beats us why guys prefer to chuck their rubbish further away in the bushes than close-by in a rubbish sack.

And finally, having covered a very large area of the cruising ground, it was time to get all the sacks together, staple or tie them up, and place them for public display (and collection of course) beside the road. Another impressive load – the equivalent of 28 of our usual-sized rubbish sacks.

Was it something in the air, or was it just coincidence, that a number of positive comments were made about the OWL litterpicks today?!

Both as we were starting, and as we were finishing, passers-by specifically came over to thank us for our efforts. And two comments on Squirt, made by OWLs who couldn’t be with us today, also captured the moment:

“I’d recommend it to anyone who has a few hours to spare this morning. It’s not as nasty as it sounds, and actually we have quite a laugh at the madness of it all.”

“They do a fantastic job in keeping the forest areas as clear as possible from litter.”

We couldn’t agree more!

 (Please note, we respect everyone’s right to anonymity and only show pics of those willing to have them posted. No inferences should be drawn from anyone’s participation in an OWL litterpicking session)

With our next scheduled Litterpick not taking place for another two weeks a message had come through to the OWL Hub, from one of our men on the ground, that several of the rubbish sacks were full to overflowing.

OWL Rapid Response (ORR) kicked in and in less than 24 hours one of our senior OWLs had dropped in, completed a round of the entire area, and dealt with the various full sacks. This was certainly a Code Flashing Blue response. We’re not complaining about full sacks! We like them! And it’s good that litter is being disposed of considerately.

Never one to forego an opportunity to maximise on his time in the woods our excellent volunteer reverted to Code Green and in addition to emptying and replacing full and overflowing sacks, he went in deeper and dealt with litter in some of the hot spots. Incidentally, while there he found a ticket wallet, presumably having fallen out of someone’s pocket while their attention was on other things. Email OWL (owlsnaresbrook@gmail.com) if you know who it might belong to.

Here’s the impressive haul that our hard working OWL volunteer collected. Six sacks of recyclable rubbish and three to go to landfill.

Thank you to all who dispose of their sexual debris and other rubbish considerately.

Our last litterpick finished a bit early due to the RAF 100 Flypast, and our next litterpick isn’t for nearly a month so three of the ‘original’ OWLs decided they’d do an extra session. (We are wondering, as the correct word for a group of OWLs is a ‘Parliament’, if this group of guys would be a ‘Cabinet’ of OWLs?!).

Because some of us like to use the area at times other than litterpicks we knew that there were some places that needed a special visit. Despite increasing numbers of guys using the bins and bags, some are being so well-used that they are overflowing.

We were strictly on Code Red. Go to a particular place and collect litter there; no distractions taking us to other places; no taking a quick grab at some litter on the way.

With three skilled volunteers on the case it wasn’t long before several areas were cleared and a number of strategically-placed rubbish sacks had been emptied. So naturally it was back to base for some well-earned refreshments.

Then, with the ‘Collection Responsibility Advisory Protocol’, reduced to Code Amber (work together as a group, but less formally) it was out for more, with visits including: The Gymn (litter level not bad; rubbish sack being used); The Late Dirty Den’s (similar, but a shame more guys don’t find it easier to use the rubbish sack rather than throw their used condoms and foils in the bushes); and other places we know are hotspots of activity. In fact we found one new hotspot. Useful to know its location should the need arise!

Given the tinder-dry (rather than Grindr-dry) state of much of the vegetation we were surprised to see a number of previously discarded-while-still-alight cigarettes, some of which could easily have caught surrounding vegetation alight. That could have led to the loss of the cruising ground!

Eventually we reckoned we’d done our thing, the C.R.A.P. level was reduced to Code Green (do your own thing, end up at the car park at some point today), and by various routes we made our way back to the car park to staple and stack the rubbish sacks.

Not a bad haul again today – the equivalent of 20 of our standard-sized rubbish sacks.

Thank you to all who dispose of their sexual debris and other rubbish considerately.

(Please note, we respect everyone’s right to anonymity and only show pics of those willing to have them posted. No inferences should be drawn from anyone’s participation in an OWL litterpicking session)