Celebrating the NHS in Erdington
Erdington Litter Busters (ELB) care about where they live. When the lockdown started they were determined to keep caring for their community and recognising the contribution local people were making in the National Health Service and elsewhere. I spoke to Dawn Edwards from ELB about the tree they’ve planted in tribute to the NHS and how they plan to continue, working with The Active Wellbeing Society, to lift spirits, taking action locally.
‘Without the nurses and support workers the NHS would grind to a halt...the tree was planted in recognition and remembrance of the NHS workers, their continual hard work, dedication and commitment during this challenging time. As the tree is watered and nurtured over time, it will grow, blossom and bear fruit; I think this typifies what’s going on in the NHS right now. It is the bedrock of our medical support system that is constantly looking after, caring for the sick and making them well.’
ELB have been working in their community for some time and is already well established:
‘Erdington is a lovely place, culturally diverse, full of history and has lovely green spaces. Things really started with Rob and myself picking up litter near our homes. Our streets weren’t too bad because we were already looking after them but the more we observed the area, the more we noticed we had a real litter problem. We now have approximately 40 to 50 streets adopted by residents and the more streets adopted, the more people we have taking ownership of their space and keeping it clean and the less litter there will be on the streets.’
From the start it was clear the group was going to be about more than litter picking:
‘The other aspect of what we do is about improving your mental wellbeing - the more you look after the environment, the prettier it looks and the better people feel about where they live; I can testify to that. When I am out and I see a clean street, plants flowering and no litter, it really does have a positive effect on my mental wellbeing. Also people connecting with each other is another aspect to our group. After litter picks, people meet at the local café for a coffee and a chat. Getting to know your neighbour is building community cohesion.’
Lockdown has effected the work of ELB:
In February we were planning an event to invite other community organisations and groups in the area to share our plans for the future and discuss how we could work together collaboratively. However due to the Coronavirus we had to postponed this event. During the lockdown we’ve had a couple of zoom meetings at which we agreed to contact adopt a street members to find out how they’re doing. Overall residents appreciated the us contacting them and some residents expressed a desire to go out litter picking as part of their daily exercise. Also some members of ELB have been supporting the Erdington Covid Response Team delivering food parcels to vulnerable residents.
The group is increasingly looking at gardening and other ways to care for the local environment:
‘With the support of the council, we did a gardening project on Mason Road. The council donated the planters and the local florist donated the plants and this is where we decided to plant the cherry tree in support of the NHS workers’