Kairali UK West Berkshire volunteers remove litter from Greenham and Crookham Commons

Members of Newbury’s Indian community have been cleaning up local green spaces for World Environment Day (June 5).

A group of 24 volunteers, including children, from Kairali UK’s West Berkshire unit carried out litter picking at the Greenham and Crookham Commons on Saturday (June 7) to target plastic pollution. Some travelled from Reading and Basingstoke to lend their support.

Mayor of Newbury David Harman shared some opening words for the clean-up, which was supervised by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, which manages the Commons.

Volunteers started at the Control Tower and ended in Pyle Hill, covering nearly 1.5 miles and filling six bags in total.

Unit secretary Varun Chandrabalan explained why they chose to clean this site.

He said: “We thought of different places. Areas in the town centre or Victoria Park have their own cleaning arrangements with the council.

“So, we thought of somewhere else people are interested to go and that is not being looked after as much.”

And reflecting on the clean-up itself, he added: “We were quite worried about the weather, but luckily it stayed in our favour.

“It turned out to be a fun day for everyone. I think the kids had a really good time as well

“We didn't expect that much [litter]. Most of the dirt was in the car parks. But in general it was not that bad I would say.”

Unit president Jaison Paul and joint secretary Vishnu Harikumar also supported the clean.

Kairali UK is a cultural and community organisation which hosts events for its members, most originating from the South Indian state of Kerala.

It has around 42 units across the UK.