One week, 6 litter picks, 1 launch event and the first Keep Tidy network meeting.

Well this week has been a busy one! We kicked off in Caerau, clearing Church Road and the base of the Hillfort with the ACE and Caer Heritage Project team. We had 8 human volunteers and 1 pony! Although the pony didn’t pick much litter she did a great job of mowing the lawn, whilst the rest of us collected 10 bags of rubbish.

This set the scene for the following day’s ‘Hidden Hilfort’ Launch with lots of local residents coming out to see what was happening and how they could get involved. Love Where You Live had our own stand and we even signed up a new litter champ with Keep Wales Tidy.

On Wednesday we had a litter pick in Rumney to link in with the deep clean of the area. 6 fantastic volunteers came out making a real difference to the local area. Between us we collected  8 bags of litter. Cardiff Mayor Bob Derbyshire joined us and said he was “really pleased that people where still getting involved in the Love Where You Live initiative”.

We also held out first ever ‘Keep Tidy’ network meeting. Representatives from 12 groups joined us and we heard from Keep Adamsdown Tidy, Keep Roath Tidy and Canna Collective, who updated us on what they had achieved to date as well as their hopes for the future. We hope to hold out next meeting in January and will keep you all informed.

On Friday the Pentwyn Pickers held their second community litter pick, targeting the area around Pant Glas. What a fantastic bunch of volunteers joined us. They got stuck right in and pulled out a lot of fly-tipping from the woods. There were beds, mattresses, a hoover and a kettle and much more. 4 wagons later the area was looking so much better. We are back with the blitz team in a couple of weeks to keep the momentum going. The group was supported by Gareth from Keep Wales Tidy and everyone enjoyed being out and about, improving the environment as they went.

Three community litter picks then took place over the weekend, in Heath, Cathays and Roath. This was the Heath Residents Associations first pick and what a great turn out we had. 24 volunteers came out, collecting 20 bags of rubbish. Not at all bad for the first outing, and we are all looking forward to the next one!