19 Jan 2012
A group committed to caring for their local beach in North Wales are the overall winners of the Tidy Wales Awards.
From a list of 28 community groups and schools shortlisted in nine categories, Friends of the Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path were chosen as the winners of the Overall Tidy Wales Award Trophy as well as the Coastal Enhancement category sponsored by The Helping Hand Company. They were presented with their trophies by the Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development, John Griffiths at a ceremony at the Pierhead Building, Cardiff Bay. BBC television and radio personality Sian Thomas introduced the various categories.
The prestigious 21st annual Tidy Wales Awards ceremony, sponsored by Environment Agency Wales recognises community groups, schools and voluntary organisations from across Wales that have made real and lasting efforts to restore their local environments to their former glory. Many of the sites tackled will have suffered many years of neglect and without the efforts of the award recipients, they would have remained blights on the landscape.
Environment Minister, John Griffiths said:
"I am delighted to present this year’s awards. The Welsh Government is committed to supporting initiatives that improve our environment. All the shortlisted groups should be proud of their achievements and I encourage other groups to follow their lead.
Lesley Jones, Chief Executive of Keep Wales Tidy commented:
"We are so pleased that we are able to recognise our volunteers’ tireless and important work. The event allows us to highlight a wide variety of achievements and contributions from all over Wales. Our thanks also to all the organisations that sponsor the event as it couldn’t happen without their support."
Chris Mills, Director of Environment Agency Wales said:
"Each of the shortlisted entries have demonstrated a commitment to their local environment, and we congratulate them for the great work they are doing. Their tireless efforts are helping to make the environment we live in a better, safer place for us all to enjoy and at the same time helping to contribute to local economies and our state of wellbeing."
Overall winners Friends of the Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path are no strangers to hard work and carry out regular litter picks around the entire 125 miles of coastal path on Anglesey, concentrating on the beaches and extending to stretches of the foreshore and footpaths. Over the last twelve months the group have collected over 400 bags of waste, they ensure way markers are in place and cut back overgrown vegetation. The overall aim of this group is to enhance the coastal path for the use and enjoyment of all.
In addition to the bronze trophy they were also presented with a £250 cheque at a ceremony held at the Pierhead Building, Cardiff Bay on Wednesday 18 January.
Each of the nine category winners received a £250 prize and amongst them was St Christopher’s School Taskforce from Wrexham who received the John Lewis Trophy. Pupils from the school decided to tackle an overgrown piece of woodland at the back of their school that had a problem with anti social behaviour. The group decided to restore the area into a forest school that could be used by children from across the county. The woodland was cleared of half a tonne of waste, new paths were laid and animal habitats were created. The area is now transformed into a safe area that is used by the whole community.
The River Improvement section was won by Cymdeithas Llandudoch St Dogmaels Community Association from Pembrokeshire who identified 21,500 square meters of flowering Himalayan Balsam in the Crippyn Valley. The group decided to develop a campaign to raise awareness of the problem locally, and put a working party in place to start pulling the Balsam. Their hard work is now beginning to pay off, and this autumn saw the return of a variety of native plants such as grasses, iris and bramble, which stabilise the banks and prevent silt washing into the river and suffocating fish eggs and invertebrates.
The Forestry Commission Wales Woodland Improvement award was awarded to Girlguiding Caernarfonshire from Gwynedd who have cleared seven acres of laurel and brambles from their local woodland allowing them to create and renovate 500 meters of pathways, making the woodland accessible to wheelchair users. They have replanted over 400 meters of native hedge and tree species and cleared the stream of litter and debris, making the area a pleasant place for locals and visitors.
Keep Talog Tidy from Carmarthenshire are the winners of the New Community Group category sponsored by Valleys to Coast. The group set out to make their community a cleaner, more pleasant environment in which to live. In the last year they have removed 5 tonnes of waste, planted native trees in order to increase the biodiversity of the area and held numerous ‘bring and take’ skip days, encouraging people to swap items that they no longer want. The work of the group has resulted in a significant drop in flytipping, and has created a sense of community spirit amongst the locals.
The Community Led Regeneration, launched this year and sponsored by Dŵr Cymru, was awarded to Llwynhendy Environment Group who removed 16 tonnes of waste and transformed a piece of wasteland, known locally as ‘The Tip’ into an area for the local community to enjoy. The site now has 16 allotments and areas that the community are free to use. Flytipping and anti social behaviour has ceased and wildlife is being encouraged back into the area.
The Environment Agency Action Against Flytipping category was awarded to Pant and Dowlais Boys & Girls Club who removed 50 tonnes of waste from a renowned fly tipping area, and what was once an eyesore is now used as an allotment, where the young people can grow their own vegetables for use in cookery lessons at the adjacent Engine House. Not only have this group of young people stopped the flytipping, but they have turned the site into a productive green area.
For the second year running, Arriva Trains Wales have sponsored two categories for train stations. Members of the public were asked to vote for the cleanest ‘staffed’ and ‘unstaffed’ stations in Wales. After tallying up the total number of votes cast on the Arriva Trains website the winner of Wales’s Best Unstaffed Station was Chirk, which has been adopted by Friends of Chirk Station and the winner of Wales’s Best Staffed station is Barry.
Arriva Trains Wales sponsored all train travel to the ceremony in Cardiff.