Long Ashton Litter-Picking Champion
1854. Jude D'Alesio
Jude D'Alesio, from Somerset, aged 20, is one of the youngest councillors in the UK who has dedicated himself to keeping his village of Long Ashton clean and championing community drives to better look after the local environment.
Jude, originally from Cardiff, is a law student at the University of Bristol and during his studies wanted to become involved in supporting his local community in Somerset. During lockdown, he was inspired to take up a challenge of picking up rubbish on every public road, field, footpath, lane and public space in the village. His challenge has further inspired the community to join him in regular clean-ups, clearing hundreds of kilos of rubbish. In addition to his litter-picking, Jude is the Vice-Chair of Governors for a local primary school and a governor for South Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust.\
In a personal letter to Jude, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
“Over six months, you have cleared the entire village of Long Ashton of hundreds of kilos of litter. I was particularly inspired by your slogan of clearing up to level up!
“The litter picks you organised have brought the community together, allowing local people to feel pride in the place they live in.”
Jude said:
“There are no words for how I feel to have received a Point of Light Award from the Prime Minister. When I first began this endeavour, I would never have thought that it would be such a success, and to receive national recognition is far beyond what I expected. I would also like to extend the greatest thanks to those who assisted with the litter picking project and without whom this simply would not have been successful.”