Litter continues to be a global issue threatening our wildlife and environment, but is it also stopping young people from connecting with nature? Maegan responds to the issue of litter in green spaces as an issue facing young people in nature in this powerful photo story.

'Young people could be discouraged to visit their local green space if it is littered which could mean that less young people go to green spaces to learn more about wildlife. I wanted to show how the litter in open spaces can interfere with people’s connection with nature as when looking at the overgrown nature, there is litter embedded in the mud and vegetation, causing young people to be discouraged from spending time in these spaces.

I’ve used a negative angle to portray the problem of litter by using close ups of the rubbish and making it quite overpowering compared to the nature that surrounds it, showing that one piece of litter in a green space can ruin someone’s experience there. The pictures [were] taken while I was litter picking, however, [they] are quite positive as they show that if young people get involved at their local nature reserve, they can help to reverse the damage to their local environment caused by people littering.'

This piece was created by Maegan Farrelly during our online delivery of the Wild Action Programme with the London Wildlife Trust. The Wild Action Programme is one strand of the Keeping It Wild Project. This project is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and this particular activity strand was supported by the George Bairstow Charitable Trust and Investec.

Banner image taken by Maegan during this Wild Action Programme.