Children in Carlisle who are part of the Scouts and Cubs took part in a three-hour clean-up of a local stream to make a safer habitat for wildlife.
Joined by staff at Peter Tyson, a Carlisle-based electronics retailer, Dalston Cubs and Scouts took to the mill stream near the shop’s Shaddongate store on March 25.
The idea to clean the stream came after the sightings of various forms of wildlife living in the stream, including an otter which, after being spotted swimming by the building on multiple occasions, led to Peter Tyson staff adopting the otter as a sort of company mascot.
Peter Tyson ran a local competition on Facebook a few months ago asking followers to come up with a name for the otter, which received hundreds of entries.
The otter has since been fondly known as Bobbin, a call back to the old Linton Tweeds factory nearby.
On a few occasions there have been sightings of multiple otters travelling together and their presence alerted Peter Tyson to the state of the stream in which they have taken up residence.
It quickly became a priority to alleviate the burden of physical pollution on the ecosystem and give the local wildlife a clean and safe habitat.
Having previously donated to the Dalston Cubs and Scouts and recognising their eagerness for volunteering, Peter Tyson reached out to their leader, Kevin Hart, who happily agreed to organise the clean-up.
Volunteers donned wellies and waterproofs and spent the day knee-deep in ice-cold water to safely remove all that did not belong.
The clean-up efforts rid the stream of various forms of litter including old cans, bottles, traffic cones, and discarded vapes.
The volunteers also came across some more unusual items such as milk crates, a radio, CDs, and a scooter.
After all the hard work the volunteers enjoyed a barbeque as a nice way to end a successful and rewarding day.
The Dalston Cubs and Scouts have plans for several more public fundraising events including an event scheduled at Tesco Superstore in Carlisle on April 2.
They hope to raise funds for an educational visit to London and sell tickets for a raffle featuring prizes donated by Peter Tyson.
These include LG headphones, a Samsung Soundbar, and a Hisense 50” Smart TV, prizes totalling over £1000.
Raffle tickets can also be purchased from Suziebou gift shop in Dalston next week.
READ MORE: Scouts take part in county's first-ever Monopoly run
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