The volunteers who help Hilly Fields and the surrounding area stay spick and span have won a Davina Hodson Award

Litter-picking volunteers at Hilly Fields Park

A group of litter pickers volunteering in an Enfield park have won a prestigious award.

The Hilly Fields Community Litter Picking group was named ‘most engaged community clean-up hub’ at the Davina Hodson Awards by charity CleanupUK.

The volunteers have been meeting monthly at Hilly Fields Park for more than five years but cover a much wider area than just the park, including streets within an area of two square miles.

Under the “inspiring leadership” of co-ordinator Danielle Shap, the group achieved “extraordinary results” in 2024, with 100 new people introduced to litter-picking. Over the whole time they have been operating, since April 2019, the Hilly Fields volunteers have collected a total of 3,473 bags of litter.

Cleanup UK supplies most of the equipment but the group has also been supported by local organisations such as Botany Bay Farm and Enfield Rotary Club.

Danielle told the Dispatch: “The award reflects the unbelievable commitment and dedication our team give to keeping the streets of EN2 and our beloved green spaces.”

Helping to keep people’s spirits high while out and about, the group often wear fancy dress, from spooky Halloween dress-ups to Santa-themed days.

Danielle said she wished to thank A&R Designs for their support and the Rose and Crown pub for hosting the group’s events.

The Davina Awards were launched in memory of CleanupUK’s “dear friend and supporter” Davina Hodson and aim to celebrate the most impactful and joyful litter-picking initiatives across the UK.

The CleanupUK awards committee was unanimous in its praise for Hilly Fields Community, commending their ability to “inspire so many people to take action for a better environment”. They have been given a £300 prize.

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