An 11-year-old schoolgirl who began litter picking around Wirral with her dog five years ago has become a regular face on the BBC.
Elizabeth Gadsdon, who goes to Heswall Primary School, started litter picking after she saw someone throwing rubbish out their car window on her way to school with her mum. Elizabeth, only seven at the time, then went up and down her road with a pair of kitchen tongs and a bag to pick up the litter.
Five years on – and Elizabeth’s passion for the planet has taken her from Wirral to the BBC. At the end of 2021 she was chosen to be a BBC Bitesize Regenerator, and has since been included on BBC Countryfile’s review of the year and did an interview on Radio 2 for the Zoe Ball breakfast show last week.
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Her Facebook page, TLC - Elizabeth: Caring for Wirral and the World, has now reached almost 6k likes. Elizabeth’s dad, Steve said: “You don’t really realise the scale until you sit back and think about it.
“I think she’s a positive influence on everybody. She doesn’t point the finger or berate anybody.”
The family litter picks at least once a week, accompanied by their golden labrador, Banjo. Sometimes they will stay near their home in Leasowe but often go to beaches around the whole of Wirral, collecting as many as 14 bags of plastic at a time.
Before covid, they started a monthly litter-picking crew attended by as many as 80 children from around Wirral – all inspired by Elizabeth to help make a change to their surroundings.
Seeing the excessive amounts of plastic left lying around carelessly has encouraged Elizabeth to campaign against single-use plastic. She went into cafes and shops by herself and persuaded them to switch from plastic to paper straws.
She regularly takes part in plastic-free July – cutting plastic out of her life for a whole month – and has encouraged her parents to do the same.
Steve, 52, told the ECHO: “None of it has come from us. She’s absolutely inspired us to change the way we live our lives.
“She asked us to try plastic-free July and cut out plastic for a month and I ended up getting obsessed with it. It’s like having a little conscience on your shoulder.
“If you told me five years ago that I’d be campaigning to reduce plastic I wouldn’t have believed you. Not a chance.”
The climate activist has encouraged her family to reduce their plastic waste and grow their own fruit and vegetables. She recommends people to slowly introduce climate-conscious changes into their lives, for example with a reusable coffee cup, and to become more environmentally aware from there.
Elizabeth has won a string of awards for her efforts to save the planet. In 2019 she became the Young Environmental Champion at the ECHO Environment Awards. She has also scooped the Prime Minister’s ‘Points of Light’ award and been made an ambassador for Wirral Borough of Culture.
Steve said, as Elizabeth has grown, she often puts others up for awards. She may dedicate most weekends to taking care of Wirral but her dream is to become a brain surgeon.
He said: “It’s not a hobby or career ambition. The environment is just the way she lives her life.”
