The #PristineParish Program
We organise twice-weekly patrols of your entire parish!
We warmly welcome Duke of Edinburgh’s 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! We’re helping to close the tap (One-minute video).
If you would like to join us in totally changing the culture of litter-picking to one of zero tolerance of litter, then read on…
An annual litter pick is one big event needing a lot of planning. The MORE litter collected the better.
By contrast, what we do requires little planning. We piggyback on daily activity: dog walking, exercise, etc.
The LESS litter collected on any one patrol the better. Meaning we are patrolling often enough to keep litter levels low.
What is a #PristineParish?
It means the entire parish was patrolled during the last patrol window.
Your Mission
Your mission will be to de-litter a route in your parish once a week. You will be assigned to a specific route and to a specific Patrol Window, either Midweek (Tue/Wed/Thu) or Weekend (Sat/Sun). The schedule ensures there is a day between each window to avoid overlap.
“We call ourselves ‘Pikkers’ after the mythical river protector.”
Being able to do one’s patrol at any time within a Patrol Window affords the flexibility we all need in order to fit it into our busy lives. So, for example, if your window is the Midweek one, you can do your patrol on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday - or, if ever that’s impossible - a day either side.
It’s likely you will wish to take on a Weekend Patrol if you are volunteering during the school year since there may not be sufficient daylight after school on weekdays to patrol.
You will be equipped with a sturdy grabber and a hi-vis vest. These are to hold on to until you have finished your volunteering.
You will also be given access to the Eden App and your Parish Pikker WhatsApp Group.
Your Parish App
The Eden App will be set to your parish and display the data and features you need. It allows you to easily upload your haul photo and mark your patrol as done. The key screen is the Patrols screen shown here. The Information dots either side explain the colour coding.
The Rota
The calendar at the top is the rota, with every week divided into two patrol windows. By default it opens on today’s date. If today is within a patrol window you’ll see the respective patrols listed below. The example has opened on 24 March 2026 - the date is bold and the window is highlighted in orange.
If today is a Monday or Friday (i.e., not within a patrol window, no patrols will be shown. Tap a window to see its patrols.
The colour coding shows how many patrols were done within the patrol window: All, Some or None.
Patrols
Tap your patrol to upload a photo of your haul, request cover or mark it as undoable (e.g., due to snow or ice).
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 (hopefully) be sold to fund expansion to other parishes.
Your Parish Chatroom
Ask for cover from your parish pikkers or perhaps swap patrols if there’s one of yours that you can’t do. We use WhatsApp for this.
Your Subs Bench
Being able to achieve anything like a 100% patrol 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’ve completed your Award.
Your Reporting
Your reporting is as important as your patrolling. And timeliness is key. Everyone wants to know ASAP whether we have achieved our goal of a pristine parish immediately each patrol window closes. The moment all the patrols within a patrol window are reported as done, the patrols change to blue in the rota.
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.
“How frequently did you take part, and what was the duration of each session? What skill(s) did you develop and were there any memorable things that you 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
I've loved the sense of community.
“There are some elderly people who sit in their window or garden that I see each week and we wave to one another. There’s a chap who always says thank you and asks how my day’s been, and in the summer the ice cream man met me on the green to see if I wanted something to eat. All of these have been memorable. Dog walkers always say thank you - it’s really noticed in the village.”
Chloe B
To apply…
You can apply by filling in this form or via your School DofE Coordinator.