Keep Britain Tidy has teamed up with the Daily Mirror and is calling for litter heroes across the country to join Springwatch’s Megan McCubbin for the Great British Spring Clean
When she is not bravely confronting aggressive fox hunters, presenting BBC Springwatch or writing her latest book, Megan McCubbin can be found stuffing her pockets with litter. She admits: “I just can’t stop. Sometimes I have pockets full of really disgusting rubbish after a walk because I can’t leave it behind. It is quite addictive. Last week I put on a pair of trousers that I haven’t worn for a while and found a KitKat wrapper I’d picked up.
“I think it is everyone’s duty. Even if you didn’t leave it behind, if you see litter pick it up. Only 9% of the plastic that has been created has been effectively recycled. Most of it still exists today somewhere. It’s in the oceans, it’s under our feet and in the air. We are leaving more than just foot prints when we go outside. Litter is absolutely everywhere. The plastic pollution crisis is killing our wildlife at a time when we know we need a healthy planet, but there is a real disconnect.”
READ MORE: Chris Packham declares ‘our job will be done’ as he shares end of life plan
Despite her frustrations about Britain’s littering epidemic Megan, 31, the step-daughter of TV presenter and naturalist Chris Packham, doesn’t support fines for those caught in the act. She says: “Punishments are really hard, because we don’t want to discourage people from being outdoors. I want people to connect with nature, go hiking and see places they haven’t been before. We need education, not fines. We need to teach people to take their litter home. And don’t get me started on labelling. Just because it says it’s biodegradable on the packet, it isn’t. There’s so much greenwashing.”
Charity Keep Britain Tidy has teamed up with the Daily Mirror for the second year running and is calling for litter heroes across the country to join Megan for the 11th Great British Spring Clean between March 13 and 29 – the nation’s biggest mass action environmental campaign.
It has empowered millions across the nation over the past decade to pledge to pick more than 4.5 million bags of harmful rubbish from our streets, parks and beaches. Last year alone, more than 342,000 people took part, including 265,000 school pupils.
Megan adds: “It is such a simple way of helping wildlife and a great way to feel connected to nature. At the moment things can feel overwhelming and that an individual can’t make a difference. But if we all took that view point, nothing would change. The more of us who take part, the bigger the impact it will have for our wildlife and it’s a great way to educate children about the impact our throwaway society is having on the planet.”
Her love of the natural world started when her mum, Jo, began a relationship with Packham when Megan was two. Although they split up when she was 12, they remain good friends. Before she had left school, Megan had been to really remote places – like Antarctica, which made such an impact on her that she went to Liverpool to do a foundation degree in biological science, followed by a zoology degree.
After graduation, her first TV presenting role came in 2017, a 10-minute documentary for BBC Three’s Undercover Tourist, exposing bear bile farms in Vietnam. Then came a job on Al Jazeera, presenting Earthrise. In one episode, she went behind the scenes with Extinction Rebellion, shortly before its major actions.
But it wasn’t until lockdown in 2020, when isolating with step-dad Chris, as mum Jo is a nurse, that Megan became a household name. The pair posted daily videos enthusing about Spring unfurling around his home in the New Forest, Hamps. They were so popular The Self-Isolating Bird Club was born – with eight million people around the world tuned in over a month of broadcasts.
It transformed her working life. Because of the lockdown Packham’s main Springwatch presenter Michaela Strachan couldn’t travel from her home in South Africa. So Megan was thrown into presenting duties and has remained a part of the team since, with a new series of Springwatch airing in May.
Travelling all over the country to film the BBC series has taken her to some of the most remote places – from the Shetland to the Isles of Scilly. But one thing they have in common is litter. She says: “I visit Bass Rock, the largest northern gannet colony in the world, frequently on the east coast of Scotland. It’s an amazing place. Nobody lives there apart from thousands of sea birds. But despite the best efforts of the incredible ranger called Maggie, there is so much plastic washing up here.
“It is so worrying. Plastic is everywhere. It’s at the bottom of the deepest part of the ocean and at the top of Everest. It has been found in breast milk, and is in people’s brains. You can’t find a place without plastic anymore. And that’s really scary. I think people are becoming so desensitised to the problem. We are now used to seeing pictures of dead seabirds with stomachs full of plastic.
“But it is not just our coastal areas. It’s also the wildlife suffering on our doorsteps. Foxes running around with plastic and pigeons’ circulation cut off because they got a piece of rubbish wrapped around their feet. We’ve got to be more aware of our impact.”
Keep Britain Tidy says 80% of the plastic in our oceans comes from the land and it is estimated that by 2050 there will be more plastic, by weight, than fish in our oceans. The cigarette butts and plastic wrappers dropped in our towns and cities, which wash down our drains, add to this plastic menace.
The RSPCA receives about 5,000 calls a year about animals injured by litter. Unless it is picked up, litter can, ultimately, end up adding to the plastic pollution in our oceans, breaking down into microplastics that, finally, find their way into the food chain – having been ingested by fish.
Chief executive, Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, says: “It’s bad enough that we have to live with the environmental impact of litter but for animals the results can be devastating. Nature and in particular our native species shouldn’t have to pay the price of our neglect. Our message this year is to help our army of volunteers and our wildlife – and show your love for where you live – by doing the right thing: putting it in a bin or taking it home.”
HOW TO TAKE PART
The Great British Spring Clean has been running since 2016, with more than 4.5 million bags of litter pledged to be picked during that time. The Daily Mirror is delighted to be joining forces with Keep Britain Tidy for the second year running to support the nation’s biggest mass-action environmental campaign.
So far 46,257 bags have been pledged so far for the clean up which takes place from March 13th-29th. You can take part as an individual or a group. Sign up by visiting keepbritaintidy.org and be part of the solution. It is recommended you use a litter-picker and gloves. You should also wash your hands. Of course, you will also need a bag to put the litter in.
This year’s campaign is made possible thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery, media partners Bauer Media Outdoor, Magic Radio and The Mirror, and supporting partners KFC, Mars Wrigley, McDonald’s, Nestlé, Pepsi MAX and Walkers.
READ MORE: Countryfile star says ‘I’ve made peace’ after year-long health battle from ITV show
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
