Hengistbury Head beach clean sees volunteers gather a selection of odd items

A team of keen volunteers from local housing association Aster Group recently spent the afternoon litter picking at popular beach, Hengistbury Head, Bournemouth.

As well as finding cigarette ends, paper, bottles, bottle tops and broken glass on the sands, the team also picked up a range of odd items including a hooded jumper, boxer shorts, a shoe and a fishing line.

Seven people from the housing association’s Finance, Development and Communications teams took part in the beach clean. The team chose the area because they wanted to do their bit to preserve the beauty spot, filling two big black bin liners of rubbish during the day.

Volunteer organiser and PA at Aster, Lianne Olsen, said: “It was great to get out and do some volunteering in the community once again. Hengistbury Head is a beautiful spot and we wanted to play our part in trying to keep it free from rubbish and other random items that could cause serious issues for the environment.”

Aster Foundation director, Cam Kinsella, said: “Volunteering is a great way for us to get involved with our communities and spend some time working together on projects like this beach clean. Well done to all those who got involved.”

Throughout September, Aster colleagues have spent 66 days volunteering and in total people have spent 122 days volunteering since April 2021.

Each year Aster colleagues can spend up to two working days volunteering though the housing association’s Aster VIP volunteering programme. Despite the restrictions in place due to COVID-19, during the pandemic colleagues got creative with their volunteering, helping local people living remotely and volunteering at vaccination clinics and NHS test centres.

For further information visit www.aster.co.uk