Eco warrior inspires her community to clean up Rowhedge

Tilly Clark, who is just nine years old, brought residents in Rowhedge together for a day of litter picking.

More than 60 residents joined forces to clean up their village, collecting ten large bags of rubbish.

Tilly, who is a Year 5 pupil at St Lawrence School C of E Primary School, launched the campaign as part of a school project called Agents of Change.

The little eco-warrior then wrote a letter to the village’s parish councillors to ask them to help rally villagers and to supply the equipment.

Once she was given the green light, Tilly rolled up her sleeves and divided up the village into zones.

Anna Appleyard, who is the chairwoman of East Donyland Parish Council, said: “I was delighted to receive a letter from Tilly in the summer.

“She had attended a litter pick in Mersea and was so inspired that she wanted to do something for her own community.

“It’s fantastic when young people want to contribute to their area and so, of course, we were happy to help.”

Tilly Clark and Anna Appleyard, chairwoman of East Donyland Parish Council

The council was able to supply some litter picking tools and asked Colchester Council to lend some extra equipment.

The event enjoyed a great turnout with Tilly’s fellow pupils and their families attending, along with members of the public and councillors.

St Lawrence School C of E Primary School headteacher Kerry Malcolm said: “Tilly designed posters, wrote to the parish council and organised all the volunteers.

“In doing so, she both cleaned up our village and made those who participated feel positive.

“We’re incredibly proud of Tilly for being such an amazing Agent of Change and inspiring her peers to help the community.”

The school launched Agents of Change during lockdown to encourage pupils to take on transformative projects of their choice.

The initiative turned out to be a huge success, with 1,500 entries made by the end of last term.

The nine-year-old eco warrior said: “I did this to help our world.

“I don’t like seeing litter lying on the floor. I felt really happy that so many people wanted to help. I feel thankful for everyone coming along - I didn’t think there would be that many who came.”

Tilly’s mum, Karen Clark, 42, said she was thrilled at the success of her daughter’s event.

She added: “Watching her face after the rush of volunteers had gone off to start litter picking was just priceless.

“She was overwhelmed by how many people she had motivated to help clean up our village.

“I am a proper proud mum – Tilly makes me want to be better.

“She is inspiring me.”

Visit st-lawrence-pri.essex.sch.uk for more information.