Volunteers Week marked with litter picks by airport staff
East Midlands Airport staff will mark Volunteers Week this week by taking time out from their busy schedules to carry out two litter picks along the six-mile Airport Trail.
The activity also coincides with World Environment Day, with the litter collected on June 3 and 4 separated into general waste and recyclable materials, as part of the day’s focus on climate action. The Airport Trail is popular among local walkers, aviation enthusiasts and dog walkers, providing a circular walk around the airport’s perimeter, including some picnic spots, art installations and information boards about local wildlife and the airport’s operations and history.
Plastics such as plastic bottles, metals such as drink cans, glass including bottles, and paper will all be separated out for recycling as teams of volunteers tackle the stretch of the Airport Trail alongside the A453.
The volunteering efforts also tie in with North West Leicestershire District Council's Love Your Neighbourhood campaign which aims to encourage local businesses to show commitment to the local environment and the communities they work in.
The airport encourages staff to get involved in a wide range of volunteer opportunities in surrounding communities. Over the last financial year, 37% of the workforce and all leaders carried out voluntary activities in local communities – giving the equivalent of more than 613 days to local projects, some of which the airport has helped to support with grants from its Community Fund.
Last year this included carrying out improvements to the Airport Trail itself, including resurfacing sections of the path and planting a hedgerow, to complement new signs and information boards provided as part of the airport’s 60th anniversary celebrations. Other projects included Swarkestone Sailing Club where volunteers cleaned boats, pontoons and walkways ahead of Sailability sessions for disabled sailors; mucking out the enclosures at Redgate Farm Animal Sanctuary; along with a whole range of festive activities in neighbouring communities, such as wrapping and donating gifts to a local food bank and treating local children to a trip to the pantomime, complete with a visit from Santa and his elves to hand out gifts.
Community Engagement Manager at East Midlands Airport, Colleen Hempson, said: “We take volunteering really seriously at the airport, to give something back to the communities around us.
“Staff find it really rewarding and local organisations and projects appreciate us taking an active interest in supporting them. As well as being a great way to mark Volunteers Week, we’re really pleased our litter picks coincide with World Environment Day.”