Kids clean-up for the future of the planet across the Borders

This weekend's edition of the Great Borders River Clean proved to be another success with over 280 volunteers collecting c1,500kg of rubbish from nearly 20 towns and villages along the region's waterways.

Tom Rawson, founder of GreenTweed Eco and a teacher at St Mary’s School in Melrose, said young people’s involvement in the effort was particularly heartening.

He said: "This was the fourth edition of a series of region-wide events that have seen over 9,000kg of rubbish removed from the Tweed, Teviot and major tributaries. With the support of Tweed Forum and the Fallago Environment Foundation, the Great Borders River Clean has grown into one of the UK's largest river clean events.

"Perhaps most exciting, this edition saw the involvement of school groups with pupils from Earlston High, Ancrum and Newtown St. Boswells Primary Schools working really hard to rid their local streams of rubbish. Newtown St. Boswells Primary School even made a superb film of their efforts. This is something that I would like to encourage in future and I am currently seeking to raise funds for the introduction of a Borders-wide prize to encourage participation and the engagement of young people in the fight against rubbish and littering.

"At a time when the world was focused on events at COP26 in Glasgow, it was lovely to see the towns and villages of the Borders working together to improve the natural environment at a local level.”