Winchburgh Wombles are pick of the community
The Winchburgh Community Growing Group has today launched a new initiative to help keep Winchburgh looking at its best.
The Winchburgh Wombles, formed by a group of local volunteers, will meet every week to pick litter across seven separate routes throughout the village.
The scheme will be supported by Winchburgh and Holy Family primary schools, with pupils helping out by forming support teams of ‘waste warriors’.
The initiative is being supported by Winchburgh Developments Limited which will provide funding for the group to cover all equipment costs, as well as fund an innovative rewards system for the growers taking part. This will also enable reinvestment into the future of the Winchburgh Growers as they develop their own plans to ‘Grow’ in the village.
A new Winchburgh Wombles portal on the Growers web site has been launched allowing the volunteers to log how much litter they have collected, and in return they will receive ‘Womble tokens’ that can be redeemed at local businesses across the village. The scheme has already announced that its first partner will be the Winchburgh Café, where Winchburgh Wombles can exchange tokens for a complimentary cup of coffee.
John West, co-founder of Winchburgh Community Growing Group, said: “It’s brilliant news for Winchburgh that we now have proper funding in place to allow us to set up a well organised, dedicated team of local people who are passionate about keeping this beautiful village looking clean and tidy.
“What’s more, by launching our website and our special rewards system not only will this initiative help keep Winchburgh tidy, but it will support local businesses too. Launching the Winchburgh Wombles also sets us in a good position to re-enter the RHS Keep Scotland Beautiful Flower competition in 2021.”
Aileen Murdoch, co-founder of the Winchburgh Wombles, said: “We’ve always been lucky to have people across the village who’ve been willing to spend some of their own time litter picking, but up until now people have worked individually.
“The Winchburgh Wombles will see them, and many more from the local community together to work in an organised and coordinated way to keep Winchburgh looking at its best. We’re still on the look-out for more volunteers and will be running our #wombleswanted campaign for anyone looking to get involved.”
John Hamilton, Chief Executive, Winchburgh Developments Ltd added: “It’s very important to us that Winchburgh is kept healthy, clean and tidy. I’m very pleased to be able to support the Winchburgh Wombles which I’m sure will be a great success, and extremely well received by everyone living here in Winchburgh. In the coming months we will be making significant further investment in our ground maintenance operations as the masterplan develops using local management and labour as a priority.”