Bretton resident Miriam Whittam came up with the unique idea last week, ahead of the Easter celebrations, as a way to not only bring the community together but also to give something back.
The idea behind the hunt was to place Easter chocolate treats around the roughly one mile radius of Bretton Park close to areas where there were areas of rubbish that needed to be cleaned up.
The hunt took place from 1:30 pm on Saturday (April 3) and before then Miriam spent most of the morning with her children Frankie (10) Rufus (9) and Beau (2) going around the park placing the various eggs, bunnies and Easter gift bags.
She was supported in these efforts by the local community, after sharing her idea on the Bretton Community Facebook page, Miriam was inundated with offers of donations.
Candy Cart, a business recently started by Sandeep Singh, to run in conjunction with his other business, The Oxcart Pub & Cafe based at the Pyramid Centre, donated 50 gift bags to use in the hunt. These bags included colouring books, pens and an assorted range of sweets and chocolates.
A number of local residents and councillors also donated chocolate and bunnies and brought them with them on the day, when around 100 people turned out to help take care of the park.
Miriam said: “I had the idea on Thursday and decided to post about it on our community Facebook page which is always very active and from there it took on a life of its own. I started getting donations flooding in and we must have distributed around 70 eggs and 50 bunnies and gift bags and I am really grateful to everyone who gave a donation, especially Jane Price and Cllr Chris Burbage. I’d also like to thank Arty Ward for helping us set everything up, I don’t think I’ve run that much in years.
“I really didn’t think it would become as big as it was. I came up with the idea because I noticed that the park was looking a bit rubbish and I thought it would be a good idea to tidy it up. Normally the council employs street cleaners but with Covid, there have been some problems with this happening and that had allowed the rubbish to build-up.
“I also thought it would be a good moral lesson for the children, the future Bretton residents, and I was inspired by my own son Frankie who regularly picks up litter as we are walking home through the park. In fact, while we were out picking up litter, another 10-year-old, who was just playing in the skate park, came over and asked if we were picking up litter and said that he wanted to help and he brought over a group of his friends.
“I think that over the last year, although things have been different, I have seen a real community vibe and everyone looking after each other. We’ve all been speaking when we can and shouting over fences but it was just amazing seeing everyone walk into the park. Sometimes Bretton can get an unfair reputation and I think this was a really great community effort.”
The hunt took place from 1:30 pm on Saturday (April 3) and before then Miriam spent most of the morning with her children Frankie (10) Rufus (9) and Beau (2) going around the park placing the various eggs, bunnies and Easter gift bags.
