Christmas Clean Up Hero awarded to family in Stirling

Laura and her kids, Carla (6) and Caitlin Mackay (4) first decided to start cleaning up when they became fed up with all the litter they were seeing as they went out for local walks. Their first litter pick took place on Gillies Hill during the October half term, using equipment borrowed from Cambusbarron Community Council, who recently became one of our Community Clean Up Hubs..

The family has caught the litter picking bug and is planning to borrow the equipment on a regular basis to do their bit to help keep Scotland beautiful.

Laura Mackay comments, “As a family we love the outdoors and countryside we live in. We take pride in our countryside. The children were often disappointed seeing so much litter and couldn’t understand why people left things behind. So, we decided to take action. The girls loved it, it was like a treasure hunt to find litter and they were elated as we filled our bags up and saved animals from being hurt!”

Melissa Nelson from Cambusbarron Community Council, said: “Cambusbarron is so friendly and welcoming. We often try to bring people together across the community, from litter picks to activity days to create a community spirit.

“We are lucky to have great open spaces in Stirling and Cambusbarron, and knowing we have the kit to help keep people safe while our litter picking is greatly appreciated. Here’s to spreading the word more and families or individuals doing good for the environment and wildlife.”

Heather McLaughlin, Campaigns Officer at Keep Scotland Beautiful, added: “We’re really impressed with the efforts of the Mackay family. Their commitment to litter picking and improving their local area is to be applauded and I am delighted to be able to recognise their hard work with this Clean Up Scotland Hero award.

“The lockdowns have shown us how important our local outdoor space is to our health and well-being and the 31 community litter picking hubs we have created across Scotland allow people to take action and improve their local environment for the benefit of everyone.”

If you're inspired to take action why not visit our Clean Up Scotland map to check out whether we have a Community Clean Up Hub set up near you.