Earth Month 2026 in Paddington - Our Impact
Grand Union BID members have demonstrated their commitment to the local environment this April, as colleagues joined us to celebrate Earth Month.
On Wednesday 15 April, under the supervision of Paddleboarding London, teams used litter pickers and nets to remove microplastics from the canal, all whilst balancing on their boards. The volunteers returned with buckets filled with plastic wrappers, cigarettes, packaging, bottles and several coconuts. It was wonderful to see colleagues who joined our summer SUP socials in 2025 return to the water.
Back on dry land, our activity on Thursday 16 April was focused on Church Street – statistically the most deprived part of Westminster. This event was organised in partnership with Westminster City Council and was a new addition to our Earth Month programme, which has previously concentrated exclusively on the canal.
The bustling Church Street community is currently undergoing an extensive regeneration project and so, to the background noise of drills and diggers, teams helped maintain the green spine – a new park and pedestrian friendly route at the heart of Church Street.
As with the paddleboarding, our focus was the smaller items of litter more easily missed by collections, but the day also allowed time for weeding, pansy planting and plenty of conversations with interested local residents.
Of course litter heroes are needed all year round and the warmer spring and summer months provide perfect litter picking conditions. If you are a Grand Union BID member and would like to organise a litter picking event for your team - on water or dry land - we’d love to hear from you.