Pole Dance and Debate Society came together earlier this month to take part in volunteer litter picking on and around the University of Plymouth campus. 

Pole Dance member, Elizabeth Harrison, shared with us an overview of the activity...

"On Wednesday 8th of November, the University of Plymouth Pole Dance and Debate Clubs unified for a joint litter pick social. We collaborated with Clean our Patch, a local community organisation with weekly litter picks. 

We had a team of 17 people attend this joint social, slitting off into three groups to clean up: Addison Road, the Student Village, and the Roundabout Walkways. In total, the team filled 46 bags within an hour and a half. 

"Litter-picking with the debate and pole societies was amazing; not only is it super fulfilling to help out the city, but a great way to meet new people" - Oscar Mansell, Debate Society member

Clean our Patch is a community interest company led by El and her husband Ash. The organisation was born out of El’s personal experience of finding solace in community litter picking – which we all developed. El also found community litter picking had a positive impact on her mental health so decided to share it with her local community. 

The social was originally meant to run for one hour however the team found litter picking strangely enjoyable, and satisfying, whilst being a laugh. After a thorough hand wash, the group headed to Caffeine Club for some cosy snacks and drinks. 

Debate and Pole Dance had so much fun with this social, and so we will be planning another one for the New Years. Maybe in fancy dress?? 

"We've been delighted to be building a firm friendship across Debate and UPPDC and had great fun helping to clean up Drake Ward with local community action group Clean our Patch. We think it's really important to bridge the barriers between Societies and Sports Clubs and are excited to be planning more events together." - Viv Hocking, Debate Society Treasurer.

   Photo: Pole Dance and Debate Society members.

We’ve got too many funny stories on what we found on the streets – so if you or your club are interested in joining us for our next social or litter pick event, feel free to drop @uppdc (Pole Dance) or @upsudebate (Debate) a message on Instagram. 

 

"I liked being able to join in one something that was helping the community. The before and after in some areas was really crazy and heart-warming. We collected so many bags, seeing them all piled in one place made me proud for having joined in." - Emma Hornsby, Pole Dance Social Sec

   The team filled 46 bags within an hour and a half!