A DARWEN community project has been recognised nationally and will be filmed to showcase the hard work of those involved.

Groundwork Pennine Lancashire has spent the past 10 months organising community clean-ups throughout the town.

The project is part of a nationwide initiative funded by Catch 22, called the Community Space Challenge, which has 42 initiatives ongoing up and down the country.

The Darwen project has been chosen to be visited by the Youth Advisory Board, a group of young people selected from the various projects, who will interview those taking part and film the group at work.

A large community clean- up has been organised around the St James estate for Saturday, February 9, from 10.30am to 12.30pm, which is when the board will attend.

Youth project officer Deborah Robinson has led the project in Darwen.

She said: “We have had the most volunteers and the most hours worked of the schemes.

“Doing these things is really beneficial and we work with people from all backgrounds.”

Deborah said the footage from the board’s filming could help the group get extra funding for new projects in the future.

Over the course of the year, the project has seen 12 events held in the town.

These have included clean-ups at Baileys Field, Hollins Grove, alleys in the St Peter’s area and Ashton Park, planting at a care home, creating an environmental banner with children from Darwen Acad- emy, litter picks and other events encouraging young and old people to work together. Community Space Challenge programme manager Paul Pearce said: “It is a really good project in Darwen.

“They seem to have a good way of working with people who can be difficult to reach.

“Young people from our Youth Advisory Board will go and speak to them about the work they are doing.

“They have a youth’s opinion so it is good to get that different perspective.”