The towpath litter pick

Text 1: Thirty-one bags, by Owen Trelawny

An original contemporary blog.

Our monthly litter pick along the canal towpath began with six adults and a roll of bin bags. It now draws whole families, so we have had to rethink how it runs. Children under twelve are paired with a named adult and given a bright orange tabard, which makes them easy to spot among the bushes from the far end of the path. Nobody under sixteen picks within two metres of the water’s edge; that stretch is left to adults with long-handled grabbers. Broken glass is never touched by hand: anyone who finds it marks the spot with a small flag and calls one of our two trained volunteers. Last Sunday we filled thirty-one bags and, for the first time, nobody needed a plaster.

Explain two ways the organisers protect children during the litter pick.