AROUND this time of year, I start to lose patience with winter. Almost gone, yet hanging around every corner, the icy blast can catch one by surprise, Jack Frost's clammy fingers still possessing the power and authority to chill the unwary to the bone.

Brrr. Yet this is the last gasp of the old season and we are now looking forward to the arrival of April, the first true month of spring. The sun will then have warmth in its rays and skeletal leafless trees will burst forth, decked out in all the varying shades of green that celebrate the great annual rebirth.

No matter how old you are, this time has an undeniable magic and it is difficult not to feel a sense of all-pervading optimism. Every year it is the same there is always a surge of excitement about the onset of spring.

I choose the words April and rebirth with care, for they should prove to have great significance with regard to Worcester as the next few weeks will hopefully show.

For there are moves afoot aimed at making this old city of ours a much cleaner and more pleasant place in which to live.

And there is probably no better time for a much-needed clean-up than the season that's about to begin.

Worcester City Council, together with the Duckworth Worcestershire Trust, is calling upon local volunteers and children to take part in the Just Bin It campaign next month. Litter-picking events will take place across the city's green open spaces for a two-week period between Monday, April 16 and Monday, April 30.

This is an inspirational and constructive initiative utterly typical of the Duckworth Trust, an organisation that has become such a force for positive action throughout Worcester and its environs.

And particularly gratifying is the involvement of youngsters in this campaign the age group so often blamed for the anti-social blight that is the litter plague.

This column has, since its earliest days, railed against the tide of rubbish that defiles our public places, footpaths and parks. The tide of plastic left by the Severn after a flood is particularly upsetting to those of us who find solace on her willow-lined banks, the selfishness of a few spoiling the enjoyment of the many. But now there are rays of light shining in the darkness.

Many readers will know that the Duckworth Trust has already made inroads into this problem. And now, in a move that will no doubt help to instil the priceless values of citizenship, youngsters are once again being involved in a campaign that follows on from the successful National Spring Clean event that Worcester staged last year.

There will also be an opportunity to enter the Community Bin It to Win Award sponsored by the Trust. Groups that enter for the award will be judged on initiative in organising their event and its success.

Last year's winner was St Clement's CE Primary School, which won a weather station for its efforts.

Recent developments in Worcester indicate that the ordinary person is losing patience with the curse of litter and graffiti. Initiatives by city councillor Derek Prodger, spurred no doubt by the obscene defacing of the Commandery by paint-spraying louts, have sent this message loud and clear to those who would reduce the quality of life for so many Worcester people.

I think it's fair to state that our society has reached the end of its collective tether with regard to litter and vandalism. Barely a residential street in this city is free from the paint vandal.

I've said it before and I'll say it again just who are the shopkeepers selling spray cans to underage youths? What possible use does a 14-year-old have for a can of paint other than get up some mischief? We have laws prohibiting the sale of cigarettes and alcohol why not spray paint, too?

Perhaps citizens should start boycotting shopkeepers known to have sold canisters to the paint yobs now that would concentrate minds, eh?

But first things first. And let us hear the words of others with regard to the Duckworth Worcestershire Trust.

Coun Robert Rowden, leader of Worcester City Council, says he appreciates the work done by the Trust for the city. The Trust ensures the city is cleaner and a more attractive place for all those who live, work and visit, he said.

I urge as many individuals and groups as possible to do their bit in helping to keep the streets clean by either joining an organised litter pick or tackling a well-known blackspot.

And Bert Williams, assistant environment protection officer at the city council, said anyone could take part, whether Scouts, Brownies, families in a street, church group or anybody else.

"Many areas that are used for recreation and relaxation suffer from rubbish, pollution and illegal fly tipping more frequently than in rural areas, he said.

In other words, a citizen's army is starting to take shape. It's only a relative start, yet from little acorns grow mighty oaks. For as with so many things, this is all about changing people's consciousness.

Individuals must realise for themselves the folly of discarding sweet wrappers, cigarette cartons or plastic cider bottles willy-nilly into the environment.

The state cannot bring about this enlightenment. It is the culprit who must recognise that litter and vandalism is not just an affront to another person but in fact an act of abuse to one's own space, the world in which we all live.

Granted, it's an upward struggle trying to flog the idea of preserving the planet. Everything these days seem to militate against such concepts. From new cars to soft drinks, takeaway food to carrier bags and pop bottles, the whole emphasis today is against the permanent, extolling the virtues of the transient above the tried, tested and traditional.

We live in a world that spins ever-faster, dizzying the inhabitants so that they lose the ability to recognise that which has value or worth. Yesterday is all bad, today is good, very good. Parochialism is pathetic, globalism is great.

But we have to start somewhere and next month seems to be as good a time as any. Those interested in joining the campaign are asked to contact the Duckworth Worcestershire Trust on 01905 459343 and ask for a registration form.

A certain son of the Bear and Ragged Staff once turned a telling phrase about the coming month lines that expressed the joy of being in England now that April's here.

Shakespeare certainly loved the natural world with all his Tudor heart. And something tells me that anything which improved the outlook for the many would have certainly met with his approval.

And you can't have any better recommendation than that.