The CVQO Westminster Award has been a truly life changing experience for me, I've learnt so much about myself and the impact I can have on the world. Volunteering with the other Westminster Award Finalists has taught me so much about the world and the importance of helping out wherever we can. It was an utterly exhausting trip and all of us challenged ourselves in so many different ways. The impact this trip has had on me is something I want to share. We are extremely privileged to live the comfortable life that we do and there is so much that we can do to help, which is why through the chance CVQO has given us to learn and understand this privilege and what we can do to challenge this, we want to give back. Now this is just a small thank you to those who shared their time with us and gave us the opportunity to help them in the amazing work they do and we will continue to give support, both physical and financial.

For now, in honour of the incredible charities we volunteered with, we have pledged £2000 to be shared between all 6:

the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, The National Trust, Surfers Against Sewage, The Wave Project, ShelterBox, and The Eden Project. 

 Together we have decided to attempt to raise £3000 through many different fundraising activities! From a 24 hour twitch stream to a sponsored paddle, we’re all going to try our hardest to support these charities as much as we can.

To raise the £300 that I have pledged, I will be attempting a 32 mile hike in 2 days, picking up litter as I walk across the South Downs. 

I will begin from my own home and walk up to Devil’s Dyke, from where I will walk to Lewes, then to the South Downs YHA. Here I will camp for the night and eat breakfast, before setting off again. I will walk up to Newmarket, then along to Alfriston where I will end my walk in the Alfriston campsite and head home.  

My journey summarised:

Thursday, August 25th, Day 1: 

Home - Devils Dyke: 5.4 miles  

Devils Dyke - Lewes: 11 miles   

Day 1 total = 16.4 miles 

Friday, August 26th, Day 2: 

Newmarket Inn - Lewes: 2.1 miles

Lewes - Alfriston: 13.5 miles 

Day 2 = 15.6 miles

 Overall distance: 32 miles 

 Along this walk, I will bring gloves, rubbish bags, hand sanitiser and a luggage scale to weigh the bags of litter as I go along! I’ll keep a running score and calculate the total mass of rubbish collected at the end of the hike. 

I will be carrying everything with me in my pack with the exception of my tent and I have located water stations where I will be able to refill my water bladder and bottles as I progress, but I will be carrying all the food I need!

I will also have a solar powered phone charger, litter picking supplies and a map!

Until we have a final closing ceremony of lunch at the House of Lords on September 15th, we will be completing our chosen activities and raising money. 

I am really excited for this walk. It will be challenging and I’m excited to take that on and push myself to do as much as I can. I love hiking, it’s something I’ve always enjoyed and with the South Downs being so so beautiful, this journey will be incredible. 

We are extremely lucky to have them just sitting on our doorstep and it’s upsetting that even though we are one of the few Green cities, there is still so much rubbish. 

This is why I have decided to do a litter pick on my hike, any small effort can make a major difference and keeping our local environment clean is something I’ve always been passionate about, so making this difference for my community is something I am excited to do.

The theme of the Westminster Award this year was “Think Global Act Local” and it’s a message I have been truly inspired by. 

Thank you.