Mayor's Recognition Certificate: Lesley Crawshaw

The Mayor of Ards and North Down, Councillor Alistair Cathcart, has presented Bangor's Lesley Crawshaw with a Certificate of Recognition for her outstanding contribution to the environment.

The Mayor is continuing to recognise the unsung heroes of our Borough, with a particular emphasis on those who work to improve the environment, increase civic pride in their local area and help to look after their own community. Lesley Crawshaw is the latest citizen who has been selected to receive the Mayor's Recognition Certificate for her outstanding contributions across the Borough.

The Mayor of Ards and North Down, Councillor Alistair Cathcart, said:

"Lesley is personally making a massive difference in the efforts to reduce the amount of litter in our Borough. She is hugely passionate and I am delighted that the Council has been able to support her and the Beach Cleaner group's efforts through the long-term loan of litter picking equipment, as well as providing arrangements to dispose of all litter collected. Lesley's efforts deserve to be formally recognised and she is a very deserving recipient of my Mayor's Recognition Certificate."

Lesley has always had a passion for the environment. Since her retirement and subsequent relocation to Northern Ireland 11 years ago, her passion has driven her to become involved with numerous local groups and organisations that bring people together for activities such as litter picks.

After moving into her new home in Bangor, Lesley quickly sought out groups with likeminded people. She joined the Beach Cleaners Ards and North Down Facebook group shortly after it was formed, initially organising monthly clean-ups on the North Down Coastal Path.

This has since expanded to become three or four clean-ups every month around the coastline of Ards and North Down. In the last eight years, the group has organised more than 150 clean-ups with at least nine tonnes of litter collected - and Lesley has been involved in all of them.

Lesley said: "The group was formed because people were getting concerned by the amount of litter, particularly plastic, they saw when going for a walk along the coastline. The idea was to raise awareness of the plastic pollution problem and to encourage individuals to take action and then we set up some events. Some people like to be part of an event and some like to do it on their own, so the group is a mixture. We usually lift an average of 40-50 kg of litter per group clean-up so it all adds up and it's great to know that beach cleaning has been shown to reduce the amount of litter entering the marine environment."

She added: "The group works with other local organisations such as community groups, scout groups and rotary clubs who encourage others to come out and support their efforts, with the aim of having a group in every area of the Borough to encourage the community to take control."

Lesley is also involved with other organisations' activities too. She gets involved in Live Here Love Here's campaigns, such as the Big Spring Clean, Healthy Oceans Healthy Minds and has signed up to Adopt a Spot. In 2021, she personally lifted over 33,000 pieces of litter when out on her own, her busiest year on record.