Marc Cranston and Jason Millar put their muscles to the test while replacing the gravestones.
THREE local organisations pooled their resources and teamed up for a successful clean up at the Westville Cemetery at the weekend.
The Westville Conservancy, Keep Westville Beautiful and the 1st Cowies Hill Cub Scouts arrived en masse at the site on Glenridge Road.
Armed with masks, disposable gloves, black bags and various gardening equipment, the team set to work.
“The whole idea is to try and get it back to a state of prettiness and today old and young have come together to give some dignity back to the site,” said the Keep Westville Beautiful’s Liesl Muhl.
Westville Conservancy’s PJ Storm said, “You couldn’t see this was a graveyard. There have been vagrants found sleeping on the graves, the general state of the graves themselves was shocking. There are people who have been buried here within the last year and it should be a place where people can come and mourn their loved ones. We need to make sure we keep places like this open.”
Storm said this needed to become an ongoing project as a way to honour the dead.
Ross Andrew, the assistant pack Scouter, said clean ups were not new to the dedicated members of the 1st Cowies Hill Cub Scouts, who were eager to be involved at the weekend’s event.
This month, to celebrate the founder of the world-wide scout’s movement’s birthday, Robert Baden-Powell, Cubs and Scouts across the globe were challenged to make the world a better place.
Each group has been tasked to collect 20 bags of litter.
“It’s fantastic!” said Andrew. “I have lived here for 47 years and didn’t even know the cemetery existed. To now be part of cleaning up a part of Westville’s heritage is really important. It’s great to see the kids become better citizens.”
Ingrid D’eathe removes a few of the chopped down branches.
Ethan and Virginia Horsley pick up bags of litter along the verge of the grave site.
Nola Smorenburg clears debris and weeds from one of the grave sites.
Frederica Smith helps clean up around the entrance to the graveyard.
One of the masterminds behind the project, PJ Storm.
Glen Martin removes branches from overgrown trees at the site.
Frederica Smith, Stuart and Luke Naysmith give it their all at the Westville graveyard clean up.
Sue Smith busies herself by removing the copious amount of weeds.
Phoebe Smorenburg restores dignity to a grave site by clearing out weeds and unwanted debris.
Callum Goodall and Kathleen Whelan team up for the clean up.
Dee and Hannah Gonatas clear an overgrown grave at the Westville graveyard.
Ben Ueckermann needed no encouragement to get involved in the outreach project.
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