Amenity trust boss praises Voar Redd Up
Ryan Taylor
The new chief executive of Shetland Amenity Trust has voiced his delight after witnessing first hand the efforts of those involved in the Voar Redd Up.
Mat Roberts described the annual clear up as “outstanding” and insisted such a community spirit would be unheard of in other parts of the country.
His comments come after the 31st Voar Redd Up was held last week.
Speaking at the trust’s monthly meeting, Mr Roberts described how vast numbers of people had become involved.
Papers before the trust stated that 4,300 volunteers belonging to 220 groups had played their part in the annual clear up.
It comes amid growing efforts to curb the plastics problem, with the Voar Redd Up getting extensive media attention. The BBC’s Springwatch is preparing to film a Redd Up in Scalloway later this month to provide footage for one of its programmes .
“We had an outstanding Redd Up,” said Mr Roberts. “An event like this has the best part of 15 per cent of the population of the community. In an activity like that over the space of a weekend is unheard of. It’s enviable.
“If you went to any other community of this size and said ‘we’re going to go out and and do this with this level of participation, with 15 or 20 per cent of the population involved they wouldn’t believe you.”
Mr Roberts described seeing someone walking down the road and “filling up a bag” everywhere he went while he watched the event unfold.
And he admired the “logistics chain” on the back of the event which ensured the bags of rubbish were removed from where they were left by volunteers.
“It is an incredibly slick, well supported and valued activity.”
Later in the meeting the trust’s environmental improvement officer, Sita Goudie, said Springwatch representatives had come up for a recce visit last week to cover the Redd Up and the plastics issue in the isles.
She had taken them out to Burwick Beach where the Scalloway school pupils regularly undertakes a redd up.
The meeting also heard environmental group The Big Blue Ocean Clean Up were preparing to visit the isles at the end of May.
Jimmy Milne
Well done everybody involved …. if only the message wid get through to the err soles that chuck the bruck in the first place.
Frances Taylor
Well done everyone.
Just gone back to the roadside I “redded up” and the bruck has returned in less than a week.
Depressing much.
Bruce Smith
I have being helping keep the sanic beach in sandwick clean for quit a time now
I go down with the tractor and take all the bigger stuff away before girl guides do the red up a few year back I could take up as much as 4 tractor bucket full’s
But last year nothing this year parts of a salmon cage a large Tyre and some netting
There is less washed ashore now but still more than need be
Bruce Smith
The bruck on beaches is never as bad as it used to be .
Well done all that take part in the red ups
And the amenity trust