What is Plogging?
We keep hearing about ‘plogging’ in the press, so we want to know – what is plogging?
We’ve all been inspired by the Two Minute Beach Clean efforts on the sea shores of the UK – but what can we do ‘inland’ as it were?
We asked Dermot from Plogolution to tell us about his plans to clean up the riversides and walkways of England via the art of PLOGGING.
Ali asks:
Dermot – what drove you to set up Plogolution?
Dermot:
“The environment has always been at the forefront of my mind and for the last four years so has fitness. It never really occurred to me to link the two until one day I came across Plogging.
Plogging is a Swedish craze which involves walking/running whilst picking up rubbish. It derives from the Swedish word “plocka” which means picking up and of course jogging. I discussed it with a friend of mine, Michelle, and we could see it was clear that there were no big Plogging groups in the U.K.
We decided to test the water and run our own plog which we planned for the towpaths along the river Thames between Putney and Hammersmith. To our surprise 16 people turned up and it was a huge success. The amount of rubbish we collected was frightening but the reaction we received from the public was inspiring.
We decided to give ourselves a name, The Plogolution, and really start to take this seriously and we haven’t looked back since.We are now planning our seventh plog, with the previous six being a huge success.
Our mission statement at Plogolution goes further than just picking up rubbish. We are determined to build fit and happy communities that are dedicated to creating an environment that we can be proud to hand down to future generations. The community aspect of this is very important to us which is why we put emphasis on making friends and always have a bonding session at the end of each plog. These have included picnics, free acro yoga classes and a hearty pub meal.
Plogging as well as cleaning up the environment, can also have a very positive effect on mental health with ploggers telling us that going to our events has stopped them feeling lonely. We are constantly hearing about the damage we are doing to the planet in the press, which can leave people feeling helpless, so Plogging is a great way to give people a sense of purpose as well as making friends and getting fit.
We encourage young and old and all fitness levels which is why we always have a walking group as part of the event. We’ve had ploggers as young as one and as old as 80, and all ages in between.
School Plogging Clubs
We believe that education is key too, which is why we are now setting up school Plogging clubs throughout London. We have set up a database for the schools to feedback their finds so that we can collate that information.
It’s been an incredible first three months for us at Plogolution and we believe the sky is the limit.
The energy we’ve seen from both ploggers and passers by has been overwhelming and drives us even more to want to be the change.
Please join us for our next plog on November 17th in Hackney and look on Plogolution.com for all the latest information.
Get fit, make friends and together we can do our bit to save this beautiful planet of ours.
Contact details:
If you are a school interested in setting up a kid’s plogging club, or an indivual looking for likeminded ploggers, you can find out more here:
Follow them on social media instagram.com/plogolution
And DO LISTEN to David Sedaris: Litter picker American author David Sedaris takes Clare Balding on a litter-picking walk in West Sussex.
Photo composite with images from John Cameron and Clique Images on Unsplash
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