A YOUNG eco-warrior from Yorkley Primary School has inspired his classmates to sacrifice part of their lunchtime to clean up each other’s rubbish in a bid to protect the environment for wildlife.

Year 2 pupil Stan recently voiced his concerns about the amount of litter he sees in the Forest and around the school - in particular discarded face masks and low-level litter which doesn’t always make it into the bins provided in the school playground.

Inspired by Stan’s enthusiasm, staff and pupils set up the school’s first ever lunchtime club dedicated to collecting each other’s litter.

And in recognition of their commitment, Forest of Dean District Council has donated litter pickers to aid the club’s cause.

Councillor Sid Phelps, who is Cabinet Member for Environment at Forest of Dean District Council, said: “Stan’s enthusiasm for looking after the environment around where he lives has been an inspiration to his classmates, his teachers and to us.  

“So, when the school approached us about donating some litter picking equipment, we were delighted to oblige.

“Educating our younger generations not to drop litter and about the problems it causes, is one way to help break the cycle of littering and we hope the actions of Stan and the club to tidy up, will be a catalyst for others to get involved in looking after their communities and the open areas around where they live.”

Yorkley School has already achieved a Bronze award from Eco Schools, which is part of national environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, and is currently taking the next steps to achieve the scheme’s Green Flag standard.

The school is also taking part in the charity’s Great Big School Clean - part of its annual Great British Spring Clean campaign - which runs until April 10.

Lesley Payne, Year 2 Teacher at Yorkley, said: “Pupils are encouraged to value their outdoor spaces and areas of the curriculum touch upon the impact that litter has on the environment, on wildlife and on human health so we’ve been really pleased to be able to launch the new club with the support of the District Council.

“We’ve recently signed up to take part in this year’s Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British School Clean, which encourages children up and down the country to keep their neighbourhoods clean, so it’s been wonderful to receive the new litter picking kit in time for us to take part and to enable pupils to pick up the rubbish they find safely.”