The #PristineParish Program
A NOVEL APPROACH TO KEEPING your NEIGHBOURHOod LITTER-free
We warmly welcome Duke of Edinburgh Award Volunteers and are pleased to offer you a vital weekly task that will take approximately one hour.
If you like litter picking, then this is for you. If you like the default state of your parish to be pristine rather than littered, then this is definitely for you.
If you like the idea of your parish contributing to a pristine planet, than you will find what we do super satisfying!
A traditional litter pick covers as much as possible once or twice a year. We cover our entire parish twice a week. The difference is plain to see!
Your Mission
Your mission will be to de-litter a Walk (i.e., route) in your parish once a week. You will be assigned to a specific Walk and to a specific pikking window, either Midweek (Tue/Wed/Thu) or Weekend (Sat/Sun). The pikking schedule ensures there is a day between each window to avoid overlap.
Being able to do one’s pik within a Piking Window affords the flexibility we all need in order to fit it into our busy schedules. So, for example, if your window is the Midweek one, you can do your pik on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.
That said, it’s likely you will wish to take on a Weekend Pik if you are volunteering during the school year since there may not be sufficient daylight after school on weekdays to pik.
You will see all your Parish Walks on the parish map at the top of your Parish Gallery page, which is accessible from here.
You will be equipped with a sturdy grabber and stylish hi-vis vest. These are to hold on to until you have finished your volunteering.
Our Systems
To profit from the full #PristineParish experience and simplify admin at Eden HQ, we would highly recommend that you take advantage of Eden's systems, which are all exclusive to your parish.
Your Parish Hauls. Take a photo of your litter haul before disposing of it in your household recycling and upload the photo to your Parish Dropbox Folder. Important: If you find nothing, take a photo of your empty bag and upload it. Why? Because we do not measure litter collected; we measure patrols done, each evidenced by a photo. The photos are used to generate credits and the credits can be sold to fund expansion to other parishes.
Your Parish Rota. Change your pik from tomato to basil when done or to banana when you need cover. If every pik is done within a pikking window, all piks change to blueberry. We use the Google Calendar App.
Piks on Mondays and Fridays count towards your Award. They won’t generate credits, for non-conformance to the #PP methodology. But that’s okay. We only need 70% compliance during a 12-month #PP Program for credits to be issued.
Your Parish Chatroom. Ask for cover from your parish pikkers or perhaps swap piks if there’s one of yours that you can’t do. We use WhatsApp for this.
Being able to maintain a 100% pikking regime is a function of how many subs there are on the bench ready to offer cover whenever a regular pikker asks. Please consider joining the bench when you’re completed your Award.
Your Reporting
Timeliness is key. Everyone wants to know ASAP whether we have achieved our goal of a pristine parish immediately each pikking window closes. The moment all the piks within a pikking window are reported as done, the piks change to blue in the rota and the entire parish changes to Royal Blue on the Eden Oasis Map.
Eden’s Oasis Map extrapolated into the future
The Oasis Metaphor: Royal Blue evokes the liveable space - the blue life-giving water - at the heart of an oasis. Beyond the palms is nothing but inhospitable desert.
Prompt Reporting: The closer feedback is to the event, the more powerful it is. So prompt reporting will not only affect my DofE assessment but is motivating for us all.
“Say how they met their goals, what skill they have developed and mention any memorable things that they accomplished.”
My Assessment
To act as your DofE Assessor when you've completed your Award, I will need to describe your achievements.
During your volunteering please bear in mind the points shown in the adjacent DofE quote. For when you finish I will ask you for help in responding to them.
Gray Elkington, Assessor
To apply…
You can apply by filling in this form or via your School DofE Coordinator.