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PTI
London, 11 December
An Indian student at the University of Bristol in south-west England and an award-winning environmentalist has inspired the trend of plogging or jogging and litter picking in various UK cities.
Vivek Gurav, originally from Pune, was inspired by the Swedish concept of “plogging” – which combines “jogga” (jogging) with “ploka up” (a pick-up) – to encourage people who make the most of their local streets. . They take pride in keeping it clean.
In India, he founded a plogging community called “Pune Ploggers” in 2018, with more than 10,000 members who have collected 1 million kilograms of waste, and intends to continue this trend when he takes up his scholarship position at the University of Bristol in September. last year Since then, his university says it has covered more than 420 miles on 120 plogging “missions” involving volunteers from 180 countries and is now taking the drive to 30 UK cities.
“I only plog in Bristol but I keep getting asked by people from Manchester, Leeds, Derby to come and plog there,” said Gurv.
“So, I decided to do a plogging challenge in 30 UK cities. Ultimately, I want to establish a UK-wide plogging community like I did back in India. So, if I can go plogging across the UK, orientate people, give them blueprints, they can start their own groups,” he said.
The former app developer hopes to be joined by fellow bloggers, environmentalists and avid runners as he visits each city via public transport. His plogging in Derby, Nottingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Leicester, Birmingham and Worcester is being tracked across his social media.
Earlier this year, his efforts won him the Points of Light Award from 10 Downing Street, which honors people who are making a difference in their communities. Gurav was recognized for taking on 250 running challenges to tackle litter across Bristol and bringing together more than 140 volunteers to clear more than 3,750 kilograms of litter.
“The award came as a surprise! I believe this award furthers the cause of climate action that I am trying to promote by picking up litter,” said Gurv.
“Every individual thing, every action counts in the race to fight climate change and this award reinforces this belief of my entire Pluggers community in India as well as the UK,” he said.
“I hope this award will really support and amplify our cause. When I told my parents they asked if I was lying. They were really happy and my father said he was very proud of me,” he said. added
Acting Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Bristol Professor Judith Squires said the student’s drive to change the world for the better was nothing short of inspiring.
“Together with his volunteers, he has lifted thousands of tons of garbage. It took hard work, intelligence and generosity of spirit — all traits that Vivek has,” she said.
The University of Bristol notes that Gurav’s life has changed dramatically since he moved to the UK for a Masters in Environmental Policy and Management MSc. Such is his plogging success that Gurav was recently invited to Egypt to speak at the Conference of Youth (COY) 17, the official youth constituency of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Gurve graduated from his masters last month and is working for an environmental consultancy, continuing his plogging mission. According to the University of Bristol, they plan to use the skills learned to help make India more sustainable.
#England
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