SOS Leith is a campaign group based in Leith which aims to clean up the area.
Who are you?
#SOSLeith is a small group of local resident volunteers concerned about issues of litter, water quality, sewage, silt, conservation and heritage in and around the lower basins of the Water of Leith. We formed in 2019, primarily to take action about piles of rubbish forming at the Victoria Bridge.
What do you hope to achieve?
We hope to protect and enhance the area and we are prepared to challenge authorities, businesses and landowners if something is not right for the community.
Why is this important?
We feel that we need to celebrate, value and fight for what we have at the Shore. In an area with so little green space, we have to cherish our ‘blue’ space.
What form does your campaign have?
It takes a variety of forms, including our social media presence on Facebook and Twitter, from handing out free litter pickers to lobbying and corresponding with politicians and bodies such as Scottish Water and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
We’ve organised petitions around litter and sewage and held a public meeting to raise awareness. We’ve designed booms that help deflect water-borne litter. We stock flower containers on The Shore and last autumn erected an information board at the historic Rennie’s Lock Bridge. Current campaigning is focussing on sewage and silt. We’ve had help on this from students at Edinburgh University and we’re in the process of linking up with universities to do some practical research.
How can people reading this article help?
Like-minded volunteers need to take a proactive role and be able to respond quickly to fast-moving events. Contact your elected officials and make them do the job they are supposed to be doing for you and your neighbourhood. And take a litter-picker with you if you’re out for a walk.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
