1 Feb 2022A huge congratulations to Jacob Thompson, winner of our Tidy Kiwi Volunteer of the Month for January. Nominated by his grandmother, Jacob, aged 11 years, has been active at clean ups along Ngamotu Beach, New Plymouth. Putting himself out in the public eye to clean up a very public beach isn’t the usual activity for a teenage lad, but he eagerly collected bags of litter from straws and lolly bags to hairbrushes and even underwear. Jacob says: “I have loved the beach as long as I can remember, and when my Nana asked me if I would help her clean Ngamotu Beach, I happily agreed. It was a good experience, as I found out about careless people throwing things away. The glass and tin is bad for our feet and with all the events and gatherings many people will get injured so there is one reason why we need to clear rubbish. Plastic wastage is very dangerous for our oceans and is also one of the BIGGEST problems. It can choke our sea life and even destroy their homes with garbage.” Armed with long handled tongs and a vivid carry bag, Jacob and his grandmother even got some compliments along the way. Nice one! As this month’s Tidy Kiwi Jacob will receive $100, a Keep New Zealand Beautiful merchandise pack, and a Resene paint voucher – along with being automatically nominated for the Young Legend Award at our annual Beautiful Awards! Plus, thanks to Stand Desk we have four desks to give away this year to our Tidy Kiwi Volunteer of the Month winners – we will draw a winner for this every three months. If you know someone doing great work keeping New Zealand beautiful, nominate them here — we draw a winner every month! Share this page
