Start this week or at any time during the year. Go with friends or on your own. Help make Lamma more beautiful. Don't just look at the trash or complain about it, pick it up. Every little bit helps.

Over the past year, Living Lamma has been organising ad hoc clean ups of coastal areas and the side of pathways, places that are beyond the responsibility of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD). In doing so, we are starting to build a record of what is causing chronic littering and this in turn helps us when communicating with the Environmental Protection Department on policy initiatives that could significantly improve our environment.

Now we are inviting Living Lamma members and friends to take their own initiative. On the second Sunday of each month, we would like you to spend a little time to clean up an area of your choice. 

Don't try to do too much — The aim is to get as many people as possible cleaning up and maintaining a small patch.

Be persistent — If the rubbish returns, clean it up again next month or the month after and keep us informed so that we can include your efforts in our on-going campaign.

Be safe and set the rules — It is a great educational experience to involve the children and we would like to see families participating. If you are taking the kids along, make sure they have sturdy footwear and gloves. 

Do not allow them to go where they cannot see what might be lurking in the undergrowth. 

Do not allow them to pick up sharp objects, broken glass or used batteries. 

Be careful — some of the banks are slippery and watch out for snakes. If you are worried, focus on a beach area or other open space.  The FEHD can provide gloves and bags. We have found also metal tongs to be very useful for picking up things that you'd rather not touch.

Tell us what you've done — Email livinglamma@yahoo.com. 

We will use the information on what is being picked up where to inform government departments and lobby for better environmental support. Photos are very useful in building our database of problem areas. In particular, if there is any contractor work associated with the littering, we need to know about it and report it. Often we find almost full bottles of water and styrofoam lunch boxes slung into the undergrowth nearby works sites.

This is a long term endeavour. Lamma's litter problems will only be solved be consistent and persistent effort. Thank you for your support.