On Friday, 24th February, the Wombles of Midsomer Norton and surrounding areas attended a group litter-picking event on the Westfield Trading Estate, Radstock organised by one of their members, Mike. 

Starting at 11am, the group met up near Integrity Print to decide where on the Westfield Trading Estate they would cover. Many of the team spilt into smaller groups of twos and threes. 

The Wombles’ efforts started just prior to the pandemic, with the Facebook group being created in February 2021, though some members have been making an effort since before the page was created. 

“I’ve been doing this since March 2020, which is when the group really first started” said Carole. 

“During the worst of the pandemic, when we had the lockdowns, a lot of people weren’t working and I think we were rather more active in big groups then. Since last summer, many of us have been out litter picking individually or in pairs. This is the first large group Womble we’ve done this year.”

“It’s always fun, whether you’re doing it on your own or doing it with a  gang of other people”. 

“It would be great if more people took more obvious care of the environment they live in. You often see people moaning about litter, but not so many do anything about it unfortunately.”

The group won the ‘Community Group of the Year’ award in 2022 during the Town Council’s Civic Awards ceremony last June. Held at St John the Baptist Church, the Wombles were given the award as a token of thanks from the town for all their voluntary work cleaning up the local area. 

The most recent event at Westfield Trading Estate was arranged a fortnight prior via their Facebook page. 

Mike said, “It’s all done through social media, so people can let us know if they’re planning on coming along just by responding to the event set up online.” 

“I’ve set a few up before, but it’s surprising how many people take it in turns to take the lead on a group Womble”.

“Sandra, another one of the group members, noticed it was particularly bad here a few weeks ago. That’s why we’ve decided to come and pick here on this occasion.”

There are no minimum requirements for litter picking with the Wombles. You can get involved with group activities where pickers and bin bags are provided, or you can go on solo missions as part of your daily routine, cleaning up the area as you go, to keep the local area tidy.

“It’s just a pastime, in a way. There’s no pressure on anyone to pick a certain amount. All ages can get involved too.” Mike explained. 

The Facebook group has almost 390 members, but the team are always looking for more people to get involved, as not all are active.

“We’d love to see more people getting involved. It really is a group effort!” Urged Mike.

If you’d like to get involved with the Wombles’ efforts, head to their Facebook page, ‘Wombles of MSN & Surrounding Area’.