Cefn Mawr's Heritage

 

Keep Wales Tidy has been busy lately working with local residents and Wales Probation Trust clearing vegetation, litter and flytipped material from some of the footpaths and old walls and masonry in and around Cefn Mawr, Wrexham. Some of the walls date back 250 years and are associated with Cefn Mawr’s industrial heritage (in fact the area was one of the regions that kick started the industrial revolution!). Keep Wales Tidy in Wrexham will be carrying out a lot more of this type of community related work in the coming months clearing miles of footpaths in and around Cefn Mawr, Newbridge and Rhosymedre

 

New Year Projects

 

As this is the first blog of 2013 I thought I would highlight two groups Keep Wales Tidy has recently been working closely with in Wrexham who are actively engaged clearing vegetation and litter in preparation for the spring planting season. The first group, The Friends of St Mary’s Church in Chirk, are a group who have over the years transformed a country church cemetery by placing nest and bat boxes, planting wildflower meadows, building habitat piles and clearing footpaths creating in the process a rich and vibrant habitat for wildlife. The group has in the past received grant assistance and help from Keep Wales Tidy for tools and equipment which has helped with much of their work.

Friends of St Mary's, Chirk

Keep Wales Tidy has also been working  with volunteers and staff from CAIS and Chirk Community Forum. We’ve been busy clearing the Chirk’s memorial garden of litter and old vegetation in readiness for some planting local residents with Keep Wales Tidy plan to do this February – Amazingly we managed to collect fill 25 bags of green waste which will be composted by Wrexham County Borough Council. Many thanks to all from CAIS who worked tirelessly to complete the task in cold freezing conditions!

 

 



CAIS voluntees busy at Chirk Memorial Garden



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keep checking this blog for regular updates on Keep Wales Tidy’s work in Wrexham

 

 

Spring Clean Appeal

Keep Wales Tidy is always willing to help communities who want to spruce up the area they live in and as such I’m planning a series of  high profile spring cleans across Wrexham starting March 2013. I’ve already started contacting local communities, community councils, councillors, environmental groups, schools and volunteers and the response has been excellent
 

Keep Wales Tidy can help organise, co-ordinate and publicise events, as well as supporting the events on the day, providing safety equipment and doing risk assessments. Tasks tackled in the forthcoming spring cleans will include litter picking, fly tip removal, graffiti removal, planting, removal of invasive non-native weeds, improving access to public footpaths and many others

 

Did you know that Keep Wales Tidy is one of the largest and most effective environmental charities operating in Wales with a strong emphasis on practical delivery covering the whole of the country and influencing a wide range of organisations and communities. Our approach leads to real sustainable change. We influence behaviour and enable groups and schools to take their own actions. Our focus is on people and their connections with their communities and environment. We deal with more than litter. Our work encompasses biodiversity, community regeneration, reducing crime and anti-social behaviour, encouraging access and recreation, health improvement, food growing, Eco Schools and a lot more. Our work is delivered by experienced and expert staff across Wales and underpinned by research and policy work including Local Environmental Quality Surveys and developing advice for Government and other stakeholders

You can follow these spring cleans as they happen and why not keep a tag on all our  community work not only in Wrexham but throughout the whole of Wales by logging on to Keep Wales Tidy’s Flicker page at     http://www.flickr.com/photos/keep_wales_tidy/collections/   

 

Winter Nest Boxes

The Three Rivers Group are an active and enthusiastic group of volunteers who carry out an amazing amount of work helping to enhance and improve the natural environment across North East Wales (the name “three rivers” refers to the Rivers Alyn, Dee and Clwyd in North East Wales which corresponds roughly to the approximate geographical area covered by the group). In preparation for next spring Keep Wales Tidy and the group were busy recently clearing old nestboxes of old nests and debris  at the North Wales Wildlife Trust’s Marford Quarry nature reserve near Wrexham – Most of the 15 or so nestboxes we inspected had old nests  so it looks like it’s been a great year for songbirds! Besides clearing nestboxes we also installed a further 5 new ones

This time of year is a great time to make and place nestboxes for our feathered friends so why not give it a go! I’ll be busy in the New Year making bat boxes with the community in Plas Madoc, Wrexham – Check this blog for updates

 

 

An old tree sparrow nest

 

                                                                         

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Keep Wales Tidy

Many thanks to all the  volunteers, groups and organisations across Wales who have worked with Keep Wales Tidy this past 12 months and helped to make a real difference in our communities 

 

Please find below the link for the Keep Wales Tidy Christmas e-card with a special message from our ambassador Michael Sheen

 

http://www.keepwalestidy.org/aboutus/keep-wales-tidy-ambassador/michael-sheen-s-christmas-message?diablo.lang=eng

Have a happy Christmas and New Year - Nadolig Llawen!!

 

Old Quarry - Decidous Wood - Maes Y Pant Action Group

Over the past few months Keep Wales Tidy has been working closely with a group of volunteers who have been busy transforming an old quarry in Marford, Wrexham into a nature reserve. Maes Y Pant Action Group (MYPAG) have been removing old non native conifer trees and replacing with native hardwood deciduous species such as oak and birch. Many of the tools and equipment used by the group for tree planting, removing brash and litter picking were obtained through a grant fund provided by Keep Wales Tidy this summer. In fact the groups’ achievements have recently been publicised nationally with a recent segment broadcast live from the reserve on the BBC’s popular early evening show “The One Show” !

 

Volunteers from Maes Y Pant Action Group busy planting trees - 500 were planted!

A great morning's work for the community!

The Friends of Acton Park are an enthusiastic group who meet once a month in the green space oasis that is Acton Park in central Wrexham – Their work includes litter picks, bio diversity and footpath improvement and the group have recently secured a grant from Keep Wales Tidy to obtain tools and equipment. I recently joined the group and Wrexham Countryside Service as they installed a bench overlooking the lake at Acton Park - A great time was had by all and I look forward to working with the group in the future

 

If you are a member of a community group interested in working towards a better environment for everyone or would like help starting a group from scratch why not contact your local Keep Wales Tidy Project Officer who will be able to help you – Check out our website for more information on the Tidy Towns project and all the other great work we do across Wales http://www.keepwalestidy.org/our-projects/tidy-towns