Thomas AspinaLl – Folkestone Wombles

Thomas Aspinall has created the Folkestone Wombles. These creatures are well-known for their attitude to environmental welfare.  Making good use of the things they find, and disposing of any waste and litter found, the group has grown from 52 to start with, to being ‘massive’ today.  Meeting every few weeks, they pick a spot and spend a couple of hours with their bin bags, and make friends while they work.  Founder member Thomas Aspinall spoke to Folkelife about his venture.

“I am born and bred in Folkestone. Lived here all my life and I love it.  (I’m not one of The Aspinalls; we share a name though.) The Wombles Community Charity works across the UK and is a brand that encompasses all the wonderful principles The Wombles stand for.  We have support from the charity, and then individuals run the local groups throughout the country.  We get a lot of support from Folkestone and Hythe District Council who lend us the equipment, and help us dispose of the waste.  But the biggest shareholder is our local community.  This is where all our volunteers come from, and we wouldn’t be able to Womble without them.”

over ground

“The Wombles have been around since the 1970s and have left their paw-print on the nation. Messages about picking up litter, looking after your environment and community have always been a big part of The Wombles identity.  There have been lots of little community groups across the country that have taken up this initiative, and The Wombles Charity wanted to unite them and bring them under The Wombles banner. 

“My parents grew up with The Wombles, and introduced me to them, and I’ve always loved them.  But each generation has their touchstone, nowadays it’s Bluey or Paw Patrol.”

folkestone wombles

“I put myself forward to the national charity to be the representative for Folkestone, and they said yes!  It started in 2024, and I put the message out there that this is what we were doing and it got shared by friends and family and a huge following. I think volunteering is in our blood, it’s something we need to do, to help others. 

“We have various areas we visit regularly.  As we have both children and adults joining in, it’s important to provide a safe space for people to move about.  So parks like The Leas, Radnor Park and green areas where kids can play are good.  Adults do tend to gravitate towards the centre of town where, in that urban setting, you do find a lot of litter.  It’s a residential and business environment and needs attention. 

“We have gone to The Warren as well, and Cheriton and also the beach too.  These are quite small ventures though, and I would like to do more of them.”

from 52 to massive

“Our first meeting had 52 volunteers, which blew me away. Now, it’s massive.  We’ve had local councillor support; local businesses come along, as well as friends and family.  We get new faces every time, but there’s always someone who’s been before to help show people the ropes.  

“Everyone comes for their own reasons, but it’s nice to connect through litter picking. I love my town and want to see it nice and tidy, and so many others feel that way too.  We give out the hi-vis jackets, and the bin bag and hoop and say ‘you’ve got two hours’, let’s see what happens.”

Volunteering is infectious

“Volunteering is such an empowering feeling, and it’s infectious too. This is why I think people come back, and tell their friends and family to join in too.

“The other week we had a mum, dad, their child and the dog called Sparky.  Next time they came they had their grandparents with them. I love it, and I didn’t expect that to be the case.”

fundraising

“As with everything, we do need some funds to help us along.  At the moment we rent the equipment from the Council.  Thankfully, with some Council funding I was able to buy our own Hi-Vis jackets which have our Womble branding on, so people can see who we are.  But any future funding means we can get our own equipment – pickers, bags, hoops and so on. That would make us a bit more independent with where we can go and how much we can do. We can have trolleys to move the equipment around, and move the rubbish around once we’ve collected it. 

“I’d also like to offer the volunteers a hot cup of coffee or tea or something as a thank you.  Sometimes it’s cold and hard work and a little cup of tea and a snack goes a long way.  We could have gloves and hand sanitiser too.”

Wombling free

“Ours is a free initiative, and I’d like to keep it like that. Obviously, when we had the Town Sprucer, that was a funded position which has sadly gone.  We’re not a replacement for everything the Town Sprucer did though, and I’d encourage those to look again to see how we could get that back up and running.  We’ll carry on Wombling, Wombling Free and getting the community involved.  It’s about taking responsibility ourselves for the mess we find ourselves in, rather than moaning about it and hoping someone else will do the clearing up. 

“But we’re open to any donations, large or small. Every little helps and it means we can do more if we have more funds. I’ve got lots of thoughts of how we can expand what we do.  Not just picking litter, but of making good use of left overs such as food that could be used by the Community Kitchen for example.  If we had a little van, then we could deliver as well as take away.”

meet up

“We meet on the last weekend of every month, with the occasional mid-week foray too. The best way to find out when the next meet is, is through our Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp group.  There’s an email too – FolkestoneWombles@gmail.com – drop me a line and I will keep you in touch with our movements.”