Litter Picking Group

Eltham Common and Wood

Saturday, 1st August 2026

Saturday greeted us with beautiful sunshine – perfect weather for a litter-picking session in these wonderful woodlands and common.

Happily, it was a fairly uneventful morning. There were no large fly-tipped items and nothing particularly unusual to report, which is always encouraging and suggests that, little by little, our efforts are helping to keep the woodland a cleaner place for both wildlife and visitors.

Not too far away, however, our Friday Woodland Conservation Group had a rather more interesting morning! While carrying out habitat restoration work, they unearthed a squashed galvanised iron bucket that had clearly been buried in the woodland for many years. More recent discoveries included two old dining chairs and the metal base of a coffee table. It seems someone had been creating a secluded picnic or relaxation spot deep in the woods. Unfortunately, it was right in the middle of one of our protected regeneration areas, where we are allowing the woodland floor to recover naturally. The furniture has now been removed and sent for appropriate recycling, giving the woodland another chance to thrive undisturbed.

Our dedicated team of 13 litter-picking volunteers still had plenty to do, collecting an impressive 16 full sacks of litter. While that is far more rubbish than we would like to find, every bag removed means less pollution, less risk to wildlife and a cleaner, more enjoyable woodland for everyone. We can only hope that, with every session, the amount of litter continues to decline.

A huge thank you, as always, to every volunteer who gave up their Saturday morning to help care for these special woodlands. Your hard work really does make a difference.