©Kirton News 2021

Bored, fed up with nothing to do?

Why not come along and join the army cadets, we are looking for new recruits. We meet at Kirton Youth Centre every Tuesday from 7 - 9pm.

You will learn how to shoot, climb, archery and apply first aid (these are just a few of the things we do). Also you can do sports, Duke of Edinburgh, BTEC /STEM courses, maybe even do some adventure training and have fun, whilst at the same time making new friends with action and adventure!

If you are aged from 12-18 then why not visit: www.armycadets.com

A Fresh start for hens

Fresh Start for hens is a totally volunteer organisation that rescues hens when they would normally go for slaughter. All egg layers whether caged, barn or free range would normally go for baby food/dog food etc at around 72 weeks of age- we give them retirement homes. The farmer is getting rid of them as they are going into a moult and their egg laying will reduce- many once they have regrown their feathers will continue to lay. Last year we rescued over 67,000 hens who went from small town to large country gardens, schools,retirement/care homes, allotments and even prisons- the safest hens ever!

We ask for a minimum donation of £2.50 per hen and to see pictures of your coop and run/ free range area.. We have collection points all over the country, the local one being Spalding (which is near Donington) . We rehome at least monthly (depending on collection point availability) and we always take the whole flock “ no one is ever left behind”- the poorlies go to our volunteers to be cared for and get veterinary treatment etc.

Hens are great characters and companions- they need company of their own kind and we recommend at least 3 to begin with. As long as they have a safe, secure coop and a run (or free range area) they will be eating out of your hand before long!
We have several rehomes coming up- full details are on the website www.freshstartforhens.co.uk.
When applying please send in both pictures and donation and ensure your collection point name is in the title of every email /donation sent.

We are a not for profit organisation, run entirely by volunteers who are dedicated to rehoming hens from the commercial egg production sector.
OUR AIM is to ensure as many people as possible are aware of the plight of the commercial hen, and demonstrate that there are alternatives to early slaughter.
OUR COMMITMENT is to rehome as many hens as we can into suitable homes, where they can live out the rest of their natural lives.
OUR GOAL is to educate the public about the ethical benefits of buying free range eggs, whilst supporting the work of British farmers.

You don’t need to have a big garden to keep a few hens, they will be grateful for the additional years of freedom you can offer them and reward you with their entertaining antics and probably an egg or two. To this end, we do not rehome to people wishing sell them on or for further commercial purposes.”

Wyberton Wombles of Boston Common

The Wombles have been busy again during the past two months. I am sure you can see the difference in and around the town and our village. Regular visits are made by Wombles to particular areas. These include Wash Road, Drainside, Manor Road and both parks, Graves Park and Dame Sarah Swift in Church Lane. The lanes and roads are looking very clean and tidy with much less litter lying around. A lot of work has been done on Drainside with the help of local farmer Andrew Dennis and we were very grateful for his support. Andrew kindly loaned a member of his team along with machinery to help remove long standing rubbish from the drain. The “Kirton Crew” also cleaned up of the area close to Andrew’s farm on Wash Road on a wet and windy day. The clean-up yielded 21 bags plus an assortment of other rubbish like tyres, TV, glass table top, gas cylinders and much more. Andrew kindly laid on refreshments for the crew consisting of tea, coffee, soup and apple pie which was a lovely gesture.

Dame Sarah Swift Park in Church Lane is a major cause for concern, not just for the litter but also for the anti-social behaviour residents have to endure. A weekly visit is made to the park by two Wombles to pick up the hordes of cans, bottles, sweet and biscuit wrappers, takeaway food packaging and cigarette ends. The Parish Council employed litter picker also makes two visits per week to the park. There are 3 rubbish bins which are rarely used by the youths that frequent the park. This kind of behaviour shows a total lack of respect for the environment and public areas, which are there for all ages to enjoy. If the Park gets closed down, which is a distinct possibility if this carries on, it will be a few that have ruined it for the majority of residents. If you are a parent reading this article and you know your son or daughter frequents the park, please speak to them, ask them to respect their surroundings and use the bins!

The weekly Tuesday morning Womble by the “Kirton Crew” has managed to cover a lot of Kirton, Sutterton and into Wigtoft. We would like to thank Rainbow Garden Centre for allowing up to park our vehicles when we have been working along London Road towards Sutterton. Also, thanks to Jack and Nikita for donating bulbs to plant on the verges. The “Kirton Crew” can consist of 2 to 12 Wombles each week and continue to find areas around the village that need a tidy up. Discarded rubbish in the dykes and verges are the main jobs that keep us busy. One of our members, who is an active cyclist and runner, “scouts” locations on his travels. Several long stretches have been completed over the past couple of months. These include Wash Road, West End Road to Kirton End, Willington Road to Kirton End, Boston Road from the village to Millfield Lane towards Wyberton, Skeldyke Road, Meeres Lane, Manor Road and Blackjack Road. Quite a few steps are being achieved, keeping everyone fit. Come rain or shine we are out there.

The group are not just litter picking. They are hedge and verge trimming, clearing and sweeping footpaths, using their own lawn mowers, bulb planting and much more. It really is a community effort and one we should all be proud of. Work has been done to tidy up both bus stop areas at the top of Middlegate Road West, bulbs planted and signs cleaned. Work has also been carried out at the bus stop near the Woodlands, with overgrown shrubs and weeds cleared which makes the whole area look much nicer.

There is regular fly tipping of black bags on the front of Hardwick and Dennis Estate. Please be vigilant and report if you see who the culprit is. We suspect it is the same individual doing this. Take a photograph on your mobile phone if you can so it can be followed up.

We find a lot of litter is fast food wrappers, drinks cups and wrappers which have obviously been thrown out of car windows, or even when walking, once finished with. Why people just cannot take their litter home is saddening and quite frustrating.
The Wombles have been in action since the beginning of February 2021 and now has 1200 members. Not all 1200 are Wombling, some are keeping up to date on what the group is doing, supporting by offering materials and there are some Wombling without posting on the group. Every little helps though in our efforts to keep our towns and villages free from litter and looking nice. We have had some signs made which are being posted in particular popular areas for fly tipping which we hope people will consider before leaving more rubbish.

You may wonder where Boston Borough Council are in all this. We are working closely with them and have managed to get regular layby rubbish collections 3 times a week. A team at the Council are working to alleviate fly tipping with cameras being installed in particular hot spots. We are also hopeful to see the Borough Team expand in the near future which will be a great help.

It is especially pleasing to see families out wombling, particularly the primary aged children. They are doing a fantastic job and are really getting on board with looking after their environment. Middlecott School have joined the Wombles and a group of their pupils have already been out into the local area. The Scout and Beaver groups have also been out in the village. Nine schools in Boston have signed up also to join the group which we are all really excited about. We are looking at ways to encourage more children to become involved, especially teenagers. We were very fortunate to receive sponsorship for start-up kits for all the schools which consisted of 15 litter pickers and 7 hoops that hold the red bags. Sadly, our local Primary School, Kirton, declined to participate and join the Wombles.

Seeing school children out and about getting involved and taking pride in caring for their environment is amazing, Children are the key to our futures and it is so important they are taught to respect their surroundings.

Several bigger clean ups have been completed closer to Boston. In Wyberton you may have seen the newly painted bus shelters which look amazing. A group of Wombles recently got together to clean the War Memorial in Wide Bargate, a little-known area alongside John Adams Way and Redstone Industrial Estate. The War Memorial in the village was also cleared by Wombles by doing sweeping and weeding of the pathway and surrounding fences.

Our group is getting requests to help tidy certain areas. One major clean up happened at Pilgrim Hospital during June and July. 60 Wombles turned up to clean the hospital grounds. It was the groups way of thanking the hard-working NHS staff that have been working their socks off during the Covid pandemic. There is still more work to be done but a great start to cleaning up the grounds. Another date has been set to return to continue the clean-up.

Wombles average about 100 red bags a week. Less than when the group started but still quite a lot.

Local companies continue to support the group with sponsorship which varies from printing of high viz vests, materials, plants, bulbs, planters and especially free refreshments. Costa and Burger King always offer a Womble a free coffee on their weekly clean up at the Quadrant.

If you see any area you think would benefit from a clean-up, please do get in touch via the Womble Facebook page or call Steve on 07595 635891.

You can also download an app called Fix My Street. Using the GPS on your mobile phone, you can report the location of the fly tipping along with a photograph. You can ask to receive an update on what progress was made. By working together, we can make a difference.