Big Success for the Big Spring Clean
In its third year, the Big Spring Clean, a mountain clearing initiate from the Ski Club of Great Britain, has again proved a success with hundreds of volunteers heading to the Scottish mountains to clean up rubbish after an epic winter season.
At Nevis Range ski area near Fort William on the west coast there were 46 volunteers who picked up 17 bags of litter, including many unusual items ranging from a New York bus ticket found by eight-year-old Robert Thorne from Inverness, who found a near 20-year-old Marathon wrapper when cleaning up Cairngorm a year earlier, to a tin of sardines.
At CairnGorm Mountain ski area above Aviemore, south of Inverness, people who had spent part of the day on the ski slopes, as well as plenty of walkers and dedicated litter pickers came along to pick up over 50 bags of litter. Around 80 people joined in the event on a fine day in the mountain resort.
Katie Gotla from the Ski Club of Great Britain who co-ordinated the event at CairnGorm Mountain said, “Once again we have had a successful day of litter picking and have made a positive contribution towards the mountain and its habitats. As well as clearing the mountain from potentially damaging rubbish, organising the Big Spring Clean is also a fantastic way to raise awareness about the effects of dropping litter.”
Volunteer Jane Davey from Inverness who was clearing litter at CairnGorm said of the day: “I have had so many fantastic days on the mountain this season, the least I can do is give one back.”
The Big Spring Clean is part of the Ski Club of Great Britain’s Respect the Mountain campaign which has been running since 2004 and was also staged in partnership with French eco-organisation Mountain Riders who organise a European-wide mountain cleaning initiative
The Respect the Mountain campaign has donated over £334,000 to several environmental projects including the Woodland Trust tree planting scheme, research projects, awareness tools including makesnowsportsgreener.com and the Eco-guide to Mountain Gear.
The Respect the Mountain website also hosts the Seven Steps to Preserve the Mountain, the Green Resort Guide and green guidelines for resort workers and snowsports businesses.
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