On Wednesday evening (16th September) a group of 7 JMCS members and two guest volunteers gathered in Clachan of Campsie to help tackle the build up of waste in the Campsie Glen burn.
After a quick run through the plan, we split into teams and headed up the path to the top part of the lower falls. On the walk up, it soon became clear that water levels were high and the burn was flowing faster than usual. With this in mind, myself and Dean scoped out the top section whilst the others made a start in the area below. We then continued down the falls with John and Greg joining the water-based team and the bank team following alongside. Once the sorting team had collected the first bags they headed down to the car park to begin sorting the items into different waste categories, aided by street lamps and Dean’s industrial light unit.
With the water level so high, wading through the burn was not feasible in most places. In fact, even crossing it in some parts was quite hazardous. With the aid of headtorches and hi-vis, the water team moved downstream collecting as much waste as they could find. Meanwhile, the bank team scoured the riverside for litter, whilst Greg did a great job transporting bags and large items of waste between the water and bank teams.
As the rain poured down and darkness fell, the banks turned into mud-slides and a decision was made to call it a day around 8.30pm. By this point, we had filled around six 50l bags full of waste collected from the glen. Whilst there was still ground left to cover, all in all, the clear-up was a success.
A massive thanks to everyone who came out to help in less-than-ideal conditions!