Wellie Wombles take their litter-preventative presentation to local schools in an effort to make Northamptonshire children aware of the impact of an untidy town

Taking the litter issue into their own hands, the Wellie Wombles frequently head out to all corners of Wellingborough and beyond to keep the streets and green spaces clear of rubbish.

It’s something they are hoping to raise awareness of, particularly in the younger generation.

Freddie Harris, one of the leaders of Wellie Wombles, said: “I think there’s less historic rubbish since the pandemic but unfortunately you can’t stop some people coming out of Greggs or KFC or whatever, pulling up on the roadside eating what they want and chucking stuff out of the window.

“Our line of thought was that we’re not going to win over the 17, 18, 19, or 20-year-olds, so the best thing we can do now is look to the future.

"That’s why we started going into schools, and the children are amazingly well-aware of the environmental issues, I was amazed how switched on they are to it. They soak it all up.

“The CLEAN team isn’t my idea, it started with Kevin Potter from Northants Litter Wombles.

"He started it and we thought ‘what a good idea’ so I went along to a couple to see how it worked and I thought ‘we’ve got to do this.’”

The Wellie Wombles is a group that began during the pandemic when Freddie and his partner Georgina walked to the shop for their daily exercise and were ‘quite a bit shocked and embarrassed’ at the state of the area.

The next time they walked the same route they took a carrier bag, a litter picker, and matters into their own hands.

Since then, the Wellie Wombles have ‘grown exponentially’, amassing 1,060 members, and are now part of Wellingborough Eco Group.

Presentations at local schools hope to instill that same sense of community pride in the younger generation.

Kelley Reed, who heads up the sessions, said: “This is an effort that goes beyond simply enabling people that litter, because what I worry about is that sometimes we’re going out and picking up after these people.

"They’re doing something that, to me, is really unconscionable without having a chance to confront them.

“If you’re educated at the same time as you’re doing the litter pick and you’re building community and a positive spirit around you, then that goes a long way to making people think ‘maybe I shouldn’t litter.’”

Kelley and Freddie were, and still are, supporters of the Wellingborough Walks Action Group to save the London Road trees, and got to know each other during the protests in February 2023.

Their presentations highlight the prolonged impact of litter and fly-tipping in local communities, the rate of decomposition of household items, and what people can do to help reduce the amount of unwanted waste in places it shouldn’t be in.

Kelley added: “The CLEAN presentations aren’t just about about litter, but also about where it comes from, why it ends up on the street and what we can do about it.

“To me, at age 74, it’s terrifying what’s on the horizon if we don’t do something about the planet. To these kids it’s hard for them to recognise that, but we can turn that feeling around to show this can be a fun thing to do with your friends.”

To date, the group has visited schools including Freemans School in Wellingborough, Wollaston Primary and Irchester Primary, as well as other groups like Orlingbury Guides, and will continue its mission to make everyone aware that there’s no room for litter in Northamptonshire.

If any schools would like to book the presentation, they are advised to email Freddie Harris at [email protected].