North Glasgow volunteers kick off year with litter pick

More than 30 people gathered at the Hamiltonhill Claypits, for the first of the monthly events of 2023.

Organised by staff at the nature reserve, the regular meet-ups take place on the third weekend of every month.

Locals have been coming together for the past two years to clean up the area and ensure it is well kept.

Robert Alston, co-chairperson of the Hamiltonhill Claypits, said: "This is important because it gives the community a chance to come out and help us clean.

"It keeps the place nice and discourages people from littering more."

The group welcomes anyone from the local area and beyond to pick up garbage along the canal.

On Sunday, participants collected more than 10 bags of discarded bottles, cans, tires, packaging, wrappers and more.

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Attendees say the difference in the area has been noticeable since the clean-ups started.

They say the biggest challenge is cleaning up hard-to-reach areas such as the water and steep hills.

Mr Alston added: "Our biggest problem probably is that some of the stuff that we take away has been here for years.

"We are slowly but surely cleaning the place up.

"Hopefully, by the end of this year, we will have another portion of what we do called the Green and Clean group.

"That will be people who are going to volunteer to help us do other things, besides litter picking, like cleaning up the edges of the paths."

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Robert Alston, co-chairperson of Hamiltonhill Claypits Nature Reserve (Image: Newsquest)

The next get-together will take place on Sunday, February 19.

Anyone who is interested in helping out can get in touch with the group via Facebook.