Even though there are still two years to go to the Olympic Games, everyone can be part of London 2012 now by getting involved and doing something to improve their local area.
The Changing Places programme has been set up by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) to help volunteers find activities that make a difference to an area that will feature in the Olympic Games.
Changing Places aims to inspire communities to improve public spaces – for example parks, open spaces and watersides; enable people to learn new interests and skills; and improve the quality of the local environment around Games-time venues and beyond, to create long-lasting change.
Whilst the majority of work to date has been taking place in east London, other sites in and around London will play host to different sports. Football, for example, will be held at Wembley, and all the equestrian events will take place at Greenwich Park. Not surprisingly the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon will host the Olympic tennis competition.
So in May and June of this year the Wandle Trust, Thames 21 and the Changing Places team are going to join forces to enable over 100 volunteers to clean the River Wandle and its banks, and demonstrate what we can all do in the future.
Our May cleanup, Sunday 9th, will be in Wandsworth at Ravensbury Terrace, and our June cleanup, Sunday 13th, will be in Merton at Plough Lane. Both sites are 1.9 miles from Wimbledon.
Spread over two months, this double event will be supported by the EU WATER project. Brought to the Wandle via our partnership with the Association of Rivers Trusts, the WATER project has been selected within the scope of the INTERREG IVA France (Channel) – England cross-border European cooperation programme, co-financed by the ERDF.
Do keep an eye on our Calendar page for further details, or put your email address into the box on the left hand side of our home page to receive our monthly email ‘blast’ detailing meeting places and timings.
And in the meantime, check out the Changing Places website if you want to lend your support to sprucing up other parts of London too.
