How Harrow Litter Pickers Transformed Rayners Lane Community Garden

During the 2025 Davina Awards, CleanupUK was proud to award Harrow Litter Pickers the Best Transformation of an Area. The project that caught everyone’s attention was the Rayners Lane Community Garden, a powerful example of what can happen when local people decide their area is worth caring for.

I recently met with the Harrow Litter Pickers, and what stood out immediately was how personal their work is. This is not just about litter. It is about looking after the places they live in, walk through, and raise their families. As one volunteer put it simply, “I care about the area. I live here. I want to make it better.”

Before its transformation, the Rayners Lane Community Garden was not a garden at all. It was a gated service road and dormant piece of land, previously used for bin collections, surrounded by residential housing. Over time it became heavily fly tipped, with litter sitting there for years and vegetation left to overgrow. Anti-social behaviour was common, and because the land was not maintained by any organisation, it fell into a grey area where no one took responsibility. It became one of those spaces people walked past quickly – because it didn’t feel safe and looked unattractive.

The turning point came in Autumn 2023, led by Kanchan, a volunteer of the Harrow Litter Pickers (HLP) who lives in the area. She refused to accept that this space was beyond help. Alongside other volunteers, she believes strongly that communities can reclaim neglected areas, even when the challenges feel overwhelming.

At first, rallying volunteers and residents was not easy. Some people questioned whether it was their responsibility at all. Others felt nothing would really change. But with persistence, support and guidance from the wider Harrow Litter Pickers network, social media and backing from the council, enough people were brought together to get the community clean-up project off the ground. That shared moment of action became a turning point. It was about taking the community back.

The early days were challenging. Understanding ownership of the land took time and coordination, and not everyone welcomed the work straight away. Despite this, the group stayed calm, focused, and thoughtful in their approach. 

What followed was a truly collective effort. In 2024, volunteers organised ten community clean-up events, bringing together residents, volunteers and a local business to tackle years of embedded waste during the first seven sessions. For the remaining three events, local ward councillors supported the project by funding a skip.

Throughout, the work remained entirely volunteer-led, driven by residents and volunteers who gave their time because they cared. As the space began to improve, so too did a shared vision of what it could become.

Planting followed, and the area shifted from a dumping ground into a place with purpose. The change was not just visual. Residents began talking to one another. Police held meetings. Nursery groups, charities, and the local community started using the space. It became somewhere people wanted to spend time. 
Maintaining the garden is just as important as creating it. Harrow Litter Pickers are clear that long term change does not come from one off clean ups. Their focus is on building accountability and encouraging residents, traders, and businesses to take shared responsibility. Through leafleting, WhatsApp groups, staggered working events, and regular social meet ups, they help keep people involved and connected. The aim is not only to clean spaces, but to change behaviour and rebuild pride.

The Rayners Lane Community Garden project has now become a model for what is possible. Service roads and dormant land exist across Harrow and other boroughs, often overlooked even when enforcement is in place. Harrow Litter Pickers are showing that communities can take the first step and work alongside authorities to create lasting improvement. At the heart of this work is a simple belief. “Mess creates mess.” When an area looks neglected, littering becomes normal. Changing that means changing hearts and minds, and that takes time. But when people physically care for their environment, something shifts. Many volunteers talk about litter picking being mindful, good for mental health, and a powerful way to reduce isolation. As one person said, “You never feel worse after a litter pick.”

This approach has driven the growth of Harrow Litter Pickers. What started as a few people picking up litter has grown into a network supporting over one thousand five hundred members across Harrow and surrounding boroughs. They support schools, nursery groups, Duke of Edinburgh volunteers, scouts, brownies, and local organisations by providing equipment, guidance, and encouragement. Last year, they collected 17,874 sacks of rubbish, giving nearly 10,000 hours in volunteer time. In recent projects, over 500 sacks of rubbish were collected from the Edgware Brook and they removed the equivalent of 15 skip loads of waste from the service roads in South Harrow.

In March 2025, Harrow Litter Pickers officially became a charity. This step has helped them work more effectively with councils, police, landowners, and organisations to tackle complex fly tipping and land ownership challenges. It strengthens the work they were already doing and helps ensure projects like the Rayners Lane Community Garden can be sustained for the long term. 

The Rayners Lane Community Garden project, led by Kanchan, shows exactly what this award celebrates. Not just a cleaner space, but renewed pride, connection, and hope. It shows what can happen when people decide their area matters, and choose to act together.

Visit Harrow Litter Pickers to find out more and to join the group.