Clean Up Chelmsford

Hey all, 

As you may know, we're a newly formed not for profit organisation called 'Clean Up Chelmsford' led by four young members of the Chelmsford community.

Our goal is to transform neglected and deserted inner-city green spaces into oasis' of thriving wildlife. 

Currently, we're working on a woodland area with unique terrain, which has been neglected for over nine years. It's located in central Chelmsford, behind the Granary car park (opposite the Riverside Inn).

It has magnificent potential due to its central location, riverside tranquillity, unique terrain and it's vast amounts of birds, insects and squirrels which need to be protected, as Chelmsford undergoes its city-wide gentrification. 
 
We plan to do this in three phases.

Phase 1.
Clearing.

- We have already removed almost all of the litter from the ground. This was thanks to a massive pool of incredible volunteers and a lot of hard work from the team.

- We have almost cleared the area of all debris - namely the discarded scrap metal, cement slabs and bricks. Most likely dumped there from the long-forgotten mint green auction house/ factory which stood where the car park is.

(All of this debris has damaged the soil severely; cement raising the pH of the soil and clay bricks removing moisture from it. Leaving a lack of variation in what can currently grow there - that being mainly thistles and stinging nettles)

- We then plan to landscape the area so that we can make space for some of the wildflowers, trees and shrubbery which we plan to plant to increase the areas plantation variation and biodiversity. 

Phase 2 
Restoration.

- We plan to work alongside knowledgable horticultural volunteers, to learn about how to restore the soil to be nutrient-rich and healthy!

- We then action their expert advice, with our own composter (currently being built), fertiliser and by aerating, softening and moisturizing the soil.

Phase 3
Rejuvenation

- Then we start rebuilding the ecosystem of the area, allowing plenty of variation in the plant life, which then, in turn, allows the wildlife in the area to thrive.

- We will be making a public footpath from the main path to the car park with a fork in the path leading down the area to the side of the river where everyone will be able to enjoy the tranquillity of the river and the wildlife surrounding them.

- We plan to try and install a bin with access to recycling to help stop litter build up in the area and will urge local members of the community to try and help us maintain the area after we have restored it.

Who will this benefit and How is this beneficial?

We're finding out that what we're doing is actually benefitting everyone involved;

- From the members of the community who desperately want to be proud of their area.

- The volunteers who come along to help bring them closer to nature

- And to us, the organisers, who really do want to provide the city, that we're so proud to call home, with an invaluable slice of thriving wildlife and allow it to reach its fullest potential.

How we started this & How we are growing to achieve this mammoth project?

We started out by simply collecting litter around the city.  But then we found this area, close to where we live, which was so desecrated with litter and discarded debris. 

What started as simply picking litter has turned into so much more... We now have a volunteer pool of over 60 people, a lot of people who tune in to see our progress every day on Facebook, NextDoor and Instagram and articles written about our work in large environmental groups!

Thank you all!

From myself (Edd), Luke, Alfie and our newest organiser Chloe, we want to thank each and every one of you for providing us with so much support day in and day out. 

We'd also like to thank every single volunteer for helping us and believing in our vision for this great space, it motivates us to keep going and going every day - rain or shine! All of our volunteers would have seen our passion, motivation and drive for making this work!

And lastly, if you can donate any funding it would be so greatly appreciated and really truly put towards a good cause!

Please do consider donating your time as well - we can add references for CVs and University Applications. It's also a great way to make new friends and share stories!

Please get in touch via any of our Social Media Platforms @CleanUpChelmsford

Thanks for all of your support, it means the world to us.
Edd Hollier<3
Head of Operations