Mayor of London sends message to young carers in Hounslow on Young Carers Awareness Day
Let’s Go Outside and Learn Community Interest Company and Hounslow Young Carers Project have been working to develop a campaign of social action that focuses on the impact that litter has on the environment, wildlife and people who use parks in the borough.
For several months this year young carers have met in the borough parks to collect evidence and assess the scale of the problem. Their recommendations to park managers include developing a campaign to raise awareness of the problem among local people.
One way that young carers promoted awareness of the problem was to design postcards using rubbish that had been found in parks in Hounslow. They sent these to friends and families, schools, council officers, local councilors and the Mayor of London.
The Mayor of London responded to the young carers on 31st January which was Young Carers Awareness Day. In his response to the young carers Sadiq Khan said “I was delighted to receive your postcard using waste materials and I’d like to congratulate [you] for all your hard work litter-picking. Having a clean environment is important to us all because litter, graffiti and fly-tipping damage London’s environment and affect Londoners’ quality of life. It is a real shame that litter and rubbish are ruining our enjoyment of parks and open spaces. This is why it is so important for everyone to act on reducing litter and help local authorities keep local areas clean and green”.
One young carer aged 12 commented that “People should know that young carers care about the environment. If everyone cared, parks would be cleaner.” see the full press release here