A small group of residents, supported by a volunteer ranger, met in Sandyford on Goldspink Lane to sweep and collect autumn leaves from the neighbouring streets last Saturday morning, part of an environment initiative organised by South Jesmond councillor David Hardman.

The smattering of residents tackled the streets, tidying away autumn leaves – which can prove more dangerous than first thought.

Fallen leaves make for beautiful autumn scenery at this time of the year, but they can also cause serious slip and fall accidents. The leaves can cover tripping hazards, like loose stones in the pavement. In combination with the recent rainfalls the leaves often form a dangerous slippery surface that can easily result in involuntary glissades for pedestrians.

Apart from sweeping leaves, the event has also included planting and litter-pick in previous years. Cllr Hardman has been organizing the environment mornings for almost four years now. According to him past events had often attracted groups of twenty or more helpers. However on Saturday the number of volunteers had been rather disappointing. Only four people showed up, with none of them being students.

Cllr Hardman hopes to attract more student volunteers in the future. “Part of the reason for doing this is to get residents and students to work together,” he said. In his opinion, one of the reasons why they were struggling to get residents and especially students involved, was that this had been the first event in 2014 and they needed more time to get people engaged.

Despite the small number of people many residents were still thankful for the volunteering. A local café rewarded the participants with free hot drinks after they had finished their work.

Subsequent environment mornings are planned for March 22th, April 26th and May 17th 2015, but may be subject to change. Volunteers usually meet in front of Caffe Z on 87 Goldspink Lane. For more information, please send queries to lovejesmond@gmail.com.