I have been litter-picking on Brentmoor Heath in West End for the past 20 weeks as part of my Silver Duke of Edinburgh's Award in my volunteering section - to complete it I need to commit to volunteering once a week for 6 months.

I chose to do litter-picking on Brentmoor because it is very local to me and I frequently go on dog walks there. Whilst walking I noticed varying types of litter that were polluting the area and I wanted to help the environment, animals and humans who all visit this space.

When collecting litter, the 3 main pieces of rubbish I find are small foiled fragments from larger products, food packaging and dog poo bags. Something more disturbing than this is that most of the items are discarded into the bushes next to the public footpaths which has even more impact on the animals that may have habitats there.

By collecting this litter, I am helping to ensure that these items are not left to break down into smaller microplastics that can contribute to water, land and air pollution as well as being even more of a danger to the local animals.

Whilst out litter-picking, I have received positive responses from other walkers thanking me for helping keep the area tidy.

When my 6 months of volunteering comes to an end, I hope that I will have made a positive contribution to keeping our local environment cleaner for humans and safer for animals.

Find out more about volunteering and work experience opportunities with Surrey Wildlife Trust...