COMMITTED to championing their local environment, Skipton Youth Council (SYC) recently set up their latest initiative, Keep Skipton Tidy, with the overarching goal to make the town a greener place for all.

As a part of its anti-littering campaign, the group launched the Keep Skipton Tidy Competition earlier this year after noticing a rise in rubbish across the town.

With the aim of getting more young people actively involved in helping to keep the streets tidy, as well as making the town's green spaces just a little nicer, the competition was a resounding success, says the group.

A total 98 young people participated in the competition, whether as part of the schools or community groups that got involved, or with their friends and families. Regardless, Skipton Youth Council was blown away by not only the number of people who took part, but the enthusiasm and dedication shown by those involved as well, with Brooklands School in particular integrating litter picking into the school's curriculum.

In total, the hugely successful competition saw the collection of a staggering 48 bags of rubbish over a combined period of 22 hours, a truly remarkable amount.

To add to the excitement, upon the completion of the competition, the youth council awarded £300 - provided by Skipton Town Council - to Skipton Girls High School - the Gargrave Road school was randomly selected from all of the competition’s participants.

The school went on to spend some of the money on more litter pickers, which it will continue to use in helping to clean up the environment of the town.

Speaking for Skipton Youth Council, its current chair, James Neill said: "I’d like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to everyone that got involved, whether you were a young person taking part or a group leader or organiser getting your respective groups litter picking.

"I’d also like to say a huge thank you to Skipton Town Council, who provided the £300 prize fund. Without any of you supporting us and taking part, this competition would never have had the amazing success that it achieved.”

He added: “This competition really highlights the fact that we can make such a more significant positive impact when we work together. I’m really pleased that we managed to unite so many people with us to help tackle what has become an increasingly important issue, not just for us locally, but nationally as well. With that in mind - and in the face of such overwhelming positive feedback - I'm hopeful that this competition can be launched again in 2025, with even greater results.”

This competition took place in addition to SYC’s other environmental efforts. Earlier this year, instead of one of its regular meetings, the group along with some volunteers held their own litter pick at Aireville Park in Skipton. Over two hours they collected three bags of rubbish, which was then properly sorted and disposed of, preventing harm to the local environment.

To find out more about the results of the competition, as well as the group’s other work, follow SYC on Instagram @skiptonyouth. Equally, if you want to join or support the group, email: Chloe.Thwaites@northyorks.gov.uk to find out more. You can also contact the group directly by emailing SkiptonYouthCouncil@gmail.com.