Nicola helping people to have pride in their streets

Nicola helping people to have pride in their streets

27 April 2016

LIVE Here Love Here is a people powered campaign building a sense of pride in local communities.

The Northern Ireland wide project is about cleaner streets and beaches, more green space and better use of derelict buildings, and one of the people at its forefront is Nicola Murray from Downpatrick.

Environment has always been a hot topic for the former Assumption Grammar student, who has the perfect day job as Community Development Officer with the Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful charity.

Nicola said Live Here Love Here was about feeling responsible for the landscape around you and doing one small thing to help.

Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, with the Department of the Environment, Tourism NI and local councils has been behind the Live Here Love Here campaign, which is encouraging people to register their efforts on its online database.

Nicola said that one of the successful parts of the campaign was ‘Adopt A Spot’ in which an individual or group commits to a local area for up to two years.

“We ask for four clean-ups per year,” she explained. “Our challenge is to get people to take ownership of their local area and for us to support them, with litter pickers and bags, everything they need to carry on.

“Saintfield Development Association has been very active, for example. I always see Lawrence [Murphy] collecting the rubbish, on the road between Carryduff and Saintfield.”

She also gave the example of one family which has adopted the Vianstown Road in Downpatrick.

“They carry out one clean-up a week and separate all the litter they find into recyclables and non-recyclables,” she said. “The family have been doing this since November and both boys are about to receive their Bronze Duke Of Edinburgh award, to which their participation in the Adopt A Spot has been attributed. They plan to continue on their work the rest of the year. 

“David Erskine and his family are also a new Adopt A Spot group. They carry out litter picks two to three times a month in the townlands of Ardigan and Tullyveery and are a very dedicated group.”

Local schools and community associations have also got on board, with one dedicated individual even taking on Dundrum Inner Bay.

Other initiatives that Nicola is involved in promoting as part of Live Here Love Here is the ‘Big Spring Clean’ — Northern Ireland’s biggest volunteer cleanup. 

Last year almost 90,000 volunteers got involved in clean up events removing an incredible 107 tonnes of litter.

Nicola’s environmental interest was piqued in various youth clubs she attended and she began her work in this area as a conservation volunteer. Although now living in Belfast she still has her favourite beauty spots to visit locally.

“Always the beaches, they are beautiful,” she said. “I would say the Quoile is also a beautiful area, really well maintained by the rangers of the Environment Agency, a lovely example.”

But to capitalise on the ‘Game of Thrones’ factor as Nicola calls it, she says people must realise that tourists don’t want to see crisp packets blowing along local beaches and roads.

“For visitors, what they see when taking in the scenery is what they take away,” she said. “We need to keep Northern Ireland beautiful for our tourism.

“Everybody can take responsibility for their own litter, it is not just the council’s responsibility

“We also hope to get more people involved in Live Here Love Here. Just get out there and do it.”

For further information visit www.liveherelovehere.org