From Laptops to Shopping Trollies; Litter was the catch of the day on Enniskillen’s Lakes
Christine Cahoon Wed 09 Jul 2014 updated: Thu 22 Oct 2015
A little sunshine was an added bonus for the team of litter picking volunteers who came together to spruce up Enniskillen’s Lakeside; as part of Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful’s Clean Coast Week in association with Coca-Cola HBC NI.
On Wednesday the 2nd July local residents joined forces with volunteers from Coca-Cola HBC NI, Northern Ireland Tourist Board, Fermanagh District Council and McDonald’s to take part in a clean up of Enniskillen’s Lakelands. The group met at Stuarts Car Park cleaning the pathway, jetties and long grass area, before cleaning their way through the town to The Brook Play Area along the River Erne. During the clean up the land based team of volunteers found two wire clothes horses, plastic bottles, take away packaging, picnic debris, a dead mouse and a large piece of plastic sheeting. However, it was the water based team from Fermanagh District Council who hauled out 2 shopping trollies, a traffic cone and a waterlogged laptop!
The Clean Coast activities continued in the afternoon with the Chairman of Fermanagh District Council, Cllr Bert Johnston, joining young people from Devenish Partnership Forum to take part in a clean up of the Loughview Drive area.
Overall the volunteers removed 20 bags of litter from the lakeside areas leaving them looking great for locals and tourists to enjoy.
Nicola Murray, Community Development Officer from Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful said: “It is inspiring to see volunteers work together to spruce up their areas; thank you to all of the volunteers who got involved and collected over 20 bags of litter from Enniskillen’s beautiful lakesides. It truly shows the PRIDE that local people have in the areas that they love. We hope that through the positive action of the Coast Care Campaign we can continue to work together to rid our coast and inland waterway’s of litter!”
Councillor Bert Johnston, Chairman of Fermanagh District Council, said: “It is great to see local people taking pride in the lough that surrounds their community. Fermanagh District Council welcomes the Clean Coast initiative and we hope to keep our loughs and lakes clean for locals and tourists alike.”
If you would like to make a difference in your area whether it be a coastal or an inland waterway then you can get involved by getting in touch with Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful by ringing 02890 736 920 or emailing nicola.murray@keepnorthernirelandbeautiful.org. Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful will be able to support your clean ups with equipment and other means of assistance and you may even be nominated for a prestigious award when the summer is over!