Thame Wombles as a group stands at 850 members but recently it has only been possible to estimate around 15 to 20 members are litter picking regularly. When organised events are arranged a limited number of volunteers come forward. In fact, most large activities are now delivered in partnership with local business, most recently with Kubota. Yet, despite this, the majority of our town remains very clean in comparison to other areas – so clearly people are continuing to litter pick in their own time which is great news for Thame.
As a result, the Wombles have made a decision to change the way in which their activity is delivered going forward. At the start of 2025 they mapped out Thame into zones which could be cleared and monitored on a regular basis. They are asking any residents who want to go out litter picking on their own to let them know which streets they have picked, or to choose a specific zone and take ownership of making sure it stays tidy. This will allow them to focus any organised litter picking activities in the areas that have not already been tackled.
In order to facilitate this, they are talking to 21stCentury Thame about setting up a page on their website that will allow information about the Zones to be shared, as well as allowing residents to register where they have been litter picking.
In taking this approach, the group feel that their profile on Facebook Social media is sufficient to promote their work, so they have decided to stop taking sponsorship and will be closing down their bank account. Their website will also close on April 12th.
Thame Womble volunteers will continue to support group activities that are arranged with best practice, guidance on where to pick, and through connecting the activities to existing SODC provision, which enables anybody to organise, obtain equipment and bags, and to arrange for collection by South and Vale Waste and Recycling after the event. At the moment they are starting to liaise with ASM to arrange a business litter picking event to coincide with The Great British Spring Clean on March 21st.
Watch this space for more updates.
