Certainly last year’s most colourful stand, the Picker Pals will be back at ESS this year, looking to reconnect with old friends and make lots and lots of new ones. A little bird tells us that they also have a few story books to give away so do drop by their stand and say “Hello!”.
Picker Pals is an exciting and engaging environmental programme for primary school children, their families and communities. It’s been highly successful in Ireland and over 85% of schools in the country now participate thanks to central government funding for the last six years, the support of 30/31 local authorities and a multitude of corporate partnerships. The core Picker Pals mission is now to grow their impact in the UK through social value in bids, ESG/CSR partnerships and direct local authority support. All these have been picking up nicely this year and the Picker Pals are looking forward to exploring further through conversations and connections at ESS 2026.
A simple idea with a big impact
The Picker Pals concept is really simple. Motivated by a story world, every week a different child takes home a special Picker Pack and leads their family on a local litter-picking adventure. Back in class, they share their experiences with classmates as part of a year-long programme combining environmental stewardship, curriculum-linked learning and fun. Picker Pals is not just about litter-picking but covers 12 important themes of environmental understanding and responsible citizenship. This supports skills, STEAM learning, the circular economy while promoting careful and considerate consumption.
Since last year’s ESS, progress has been very encouraging and Picker Pals have most certainly arrived in the UK now. The programme has already reached thousands of children in over 49 UK local authorities. Teachers, kids and families have had a great time and the feedback from schools and our social value partners has been universally positive.
Social value made simple
For organisations delivering social value through public contracts, Picker Pals provides a turnkey, scalable and geographically targeted solution. With full programme management and impact reporting, organisations can turn commitments made through bids into visible community outcomes. Picker Pals can also support CSR and ESG objectives and provide opportunities for colleague engagement, child and family-led environmental stewardship and stronger relationships with councils and the communities they serve.
The result is impact that moves far beyond the classroom, helping children, families and communities create cleaner, greener and more connected places to live.
Stronger, cleaner and healthier communities
Picker Pals provides councils with an engaging, curriculum-linked environmental education initiative while encouraging active outdoor family activity and creating wider health, community and environmental benefits. It can also provide a pathway for businesses seeking to deliver social value within local authority areas. Local authority partners that directly fund Picker Pals now include Cardiff City Council, Hackney Council, Islington Borough Council, Brent Borough Council and Kent County Council.
The scale of the programme demonstrates the cumulative effect of these individual actions. Picker Pals is proud to have created the following impact:
168,000+ children directly involved
420,000+ litter-picking adventures
1,092 tonnes of litter removed
630,000+ active outdoor hours
4.1 million hours of environmental learning.
Meet Picker Pals at Stand RS-H184 at RWM Expo next week to discover how your organisation can turn social value commitments into meaningful action for children, families and communities.
Find out more about Picker Pals and connect with us through our ESS Expo profile, or visit the Picker Pals website.
Make the world better. Have fun doing it.
