Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

Residents across Carmarthenshire are being urged to turn up and take part in a series of litter picks. Individuals and organised groups who roll up their sleeves and get involved will be rewarded for their efforts. In a joint initiative between the Carmarthenshire Council’s recycling section and housing department, with support from Keep Wales Tidy, the aim is to improve the quality of the local environment through community action. In return volunteers will earn Time Credits, which they can save and spend on a host of local and national leisure or educational activities. Some 35 bags of rubbish including large amounts of dog mess, builders bags and an old armchair were collected in a recent Penyfan Park clean up. Events: Fri, 10am - 12pm on 14/10/2016 at Ponthenri Community Hall, Sat, 10am -12pm on 05/11/2016 at St Paul’s Family Centre Fri, 10am – 12pm on 18/11/2016 at Trallwm Community Hall Fri, 10am – 12pm on 02/12/2016 at Swiss Valley Community Hall Llangennech Clean Up week (17...

Residents across Carmarthenshire are being urged to join in a nationwide clean-up campaign. Keep Wales Tidy (KWT) is asking everyone to Be involved, Be proud and Be Tidy this September and help clean up Wales. The council is supporting the campaign which gives people of all ages the opportunity to volunteer and get together to spruce up their local community. To get involved register on the Keep Wales Tidy website to receive a free Be Tidy pack full of helpful information, contacts and resources. The council will provide free clean-up kits on loan which includes litter-pickers, bags and gloves as part of the Pride In your Patch project, a joint initiative between the council’s Housing Services and the Environment department. Originally designed to involve housing tenants in improvement works on their gardens and outdoor spaces, Pride In Your Patch has since evolved to include all residents in Carmarthenshire and to promote all kinds of community activities from shared allotments to...

Four Lift Programme clients were recently given the exciting opportunity to work on a forestry project in Troserch Woods in Llangennech. As part of a two week pilot project, organised in partnership with Keep Wales Tidy, the Lift Programme and Tidy Towns, the group was given various woodland conservation task to complete which would enhance and preserve the forest for local community members to enjoy. This included clearing a Christmas tree plantation of weeds, rebuilding part of a riverside path, adding drainage sumps and constructing wooden benches. Clients were supervised by project officers from Keep Wales Tidy and Tidy Towns and were provided with transport and protective equipment by the Lift Programme. Alan, one of the volunteers, said: “I’ve really enjoyed my placement and have learnt a lot of new skills. It has boosted my confidence and given me something constructive to do with my time.” Daniel Snaith, Project Officer for Keep Wales Tidy, said: “It has been a pleasure worki...

Aberystwyth University’s Penglais Campus has become the first University campus in Wales to achieve the Green Flag Award. The Green Flag Award is a UK-wide partnership, delivered in Wales by Keep Wales Tidy with support from Natural Resources Wales, and is the mark of a high quality park or green space. It is judged by green space experts who visit applicant sites and assess them against eight strict criteria, including horticultural standards, cleanliness, sustainability and community involvement. A record-breaking 110 parks and green spaces in Wales have met the high standard needed to receive the Green Flag Award or the Green Flag Community Award this year. Director of Estates Development at Aberystwyth University, Mark Taylor said: “It is pleasing to see the hard work of everyone involved rewarded, in particular our Grounds Team, and the University estate recognised as a safe, green and enjoyable space for students, staff and visitors. We will seek to further enhance our grounds ...

Residents and tenants at a Pontyates housing estate have been clearing out their junk as part of the council’s Pride In Your Patch campaign. A skip amnesty was held at Maesglas last week, organised by the housing department, and supported by Keep Wales Tidy and Tidy Towns . Locals were encouraged to have a good clear out, and that they did – within an hour the skip was full! Housing community engagement officer Pat Evans said: “Pride In Your Patch is all about encouraging tenants to take ownership and pride in their gardens and community areas. There are a number of elements to the project, including construction training opportunities, but this is one of the simplest – just having a good clear out and tidy up to make the community look and feel a lot nicer. “We had great feedback from tenants, and many of them are planning more events together in the future, such as litter picks with families.” Pride In Your Patch is one of several schemes that run as part of the council’s Carmart...

Copperworks Infant School has gone Platinum. Staff and pupils are celebrating after achieving the highest accolade possible under the Eco Schools programme. The Platinum award is the equivalent of four Green Flags and is only given to schools that have demonstrated a real commitment to the environment. Eco school’s co-ordinator Jane Beynon Morgan said: “We are all very pleased and proud to achieve this prestigious award. The children, who are only aged 3-7, have worked very diligently to achieve the award by embedding many eco initiatives into the school curriculum. By engaging and promoting these important issues the children are learning the importance of recycling from an early age. They take these important issues home and into the wider community.” The Llanelli school has held a “Flush the Loo Day” where all the children and staff counted the number of times the toilet was used ad then calculated the amount of water used. The eco committee installed hippo bags in all the toilets...

Recent storms that hit Wales left the coastline in devastation and with summer just around the corner; Keep Wales Tidy (KWT) is searching for volunteers in Carmarthenshire and surrounding areas to help get our local beaches back to looking beautiful! The second annual Clean Coasts Week, sponsored by McDonald’s Restaurants Ltd, takes place from the 10th – 18th May 2014. Keep Wales Tidy along with McDonald’s restaurant staff, community groups, schools and businesses will take part in clean-up events across the country, after high winds and severe flooding battered our coasts and left some beaches unrecognisable. Cefn Sidan lost a large amount of sand dune, and all along the Carmarthenshire coast, damage was caused causing transportation issues and problems for wildlife. A huge amount of marine litter was also washed onto the beaches with the large swells. Daniel Snaith, KWT Carmarthenshire Project Officer said: “After last year’s successful Clean Coasts Week in Carmarthenshire, we are ...

A massive clean-up is being held at Cefn Sidan Beach in Pembrey following the New Year storms. Up to 90mph winds together with the recent high tides caused lots of debris and litter to get washed up on the Blue Flag beach. Pembrey Country Park rangers have now teamed up with Tidy Towns and Keep Wales Tidy to organise the clean-up on Thursday, March 20 and are appealing for volunteers to come along and help. It is being held between 10am and 12noon, but volunteers are being urged to meet in car park 2 at 9.30am. Tools and equipment will be made available; volunteers should wear appropriate clothing and footwear and if possible bring gloves. Executive Board Member for Regeneration and Leisure Councillor Meryl Gravell said: “The recent storms have caused a lot of rubbish to wash up on the beach, from larger items such as fishing nets, plastic drums, tree branches and parts of old boats as well as general litter. “We are very grateful to Keep Wales Tidy and Tidy Towns for organising the ...

Two people who were shopping in Carmarthen town centre have been rewarded for putting their rubbish in the bin. Instead of fining people for dropping litter, council environmental enforcement officers were thanking residents and entering them into a prize draw for helping to keep the county clean. The day of action, which took place just before Christmas, was organised by Keep Wales Tidy in local authorities across Wales. The aim of the operation was to raise awareness of litter issues and encourage people to look after the environment in which they live. Debbie Davies, from Meidrim, won a £15 shopping voucher from the council, whilst Llandysul resident Amanda Labram won a £75 shopping voucher in the all-Wales draw, courtesy of Keep Wales Tidy. Executive Board Member for Environmental and Public Protection Cllr Jim Jones said: “Carmarthenshire was one of a number of authorities that took part in ‘Operation Christmas Spirit’, organised by Keep Wales Tidy. “As well as fining those people...

A team of volunteers have helped to clean up Dafen Pond for the benefit of the community. Carmarthenshire County Council Leader Kevin Madge was one of many volunteers to get his hands dirty along with Deputy Leader and local member for Dafen Cllr Tegwen Devichand. More than a dozen bags of rubbish were removed along with two car wheels and several other large miscellaneous items that had been fly-tipped there. The clean-up was organised by Tidy Towns and Keep Wales Tidy with Cllr Devichand who brought along a number of volunteers to help out. The footpath leading to the disabled hard-standing by the pond has also been cleared and the Japanese Knotweed will be sprayed as soon as possible. A new litter bin has also been installed. Cllr Devichand said: “The pond was full of rubbish. Not only was it an eyesore but it was also very dangerous for the wildlife. Dafen Pond is a popular recreational area used by families and it is not fair that it is being spoilt in this way. Hopefully now that...

This September, environmental charity Keep Wales Tidy will put the people of Wales to the test by calling on them to take part in a week-long, nationwide, clean-up of littered black spots in towns, villages and the countryside. Tidy Wales Week will take place from 16 to 22 September and Keep Wales Tidy are hoping that people living in every corner of the country will show how much they care for their local area by getting involved in hands-on, problem-solving action. Everyone who registers an event online at www.keepwalestidy.org will be put into a prize draw to win a £100 National Garden gift voucher! To assist groups taking part, Keep Wales Tidy will send information explaining how to organise a safe, busy and fun event. Last year over 10,000 people of all ages did their bit to clean up their neighbourhoods and as a result many long standing litter blots on the landscape were removed. The week of action resulted in thousands of bags of litter being recovered by volunteers....

Streets in Carmarthenshire continue to be cleaner than the all Wales average, according to a new report. The survey, carried out by Keep Wales Tidy in July, gave Carmarthenshire an overall score of 68.5 (out of 100) for cleanliness* - that’s above the all Wales figure of 67.9. Furthermore, 94% of streets in Carmarthenshire were graded B or above (no more than three small items of litter). No D grade streets were found during the course of survey (heavily affected by litter and/or refuse with significant accumulations). The Local Environmental Audit and Management System (LEAMS) report found that pedestrian/individual litter continues to be the biggest litter problem in the county, present on 92.8% of streets surveyed. Smoking-related litter continues to be the most common litter type, found on 85.5% of county streets. Confectionary litter and drinks related litter were present on 57.8% and 50.6% of streets respectively, and fast food litter was identified on 22.9% of streets. Dog fouli...

An Amman Valley group has been recognised for playing its part in cleaning up their community. The Cwmamman Rivercare group, who started up in Spring 2009 have spent the last three years tackling litter and other environmental issues in and along the river Amman between Garnant and Glanamman, and in that time the area has seen a significant reduction in littering. The group were one of three finalists in the “River Improvement” category at Keep Wales Tidy’s annual Tidy Wales awards held at the Pierhead Building in Cardiff Bay earlier this year. Group secretary, Wendy Davies, said: “We are delighted to have been recognized for our efforts at the awards this year. We hope to continue the work we have been doing on the river long into the future to help make the area more attractive to visitors and wildlife alike.” She added, “We currently have a small group of regular volunteers who always put a great effort into what we do, but we are always on the lookout for more volunteers. If a...

Streets in Carmarthenshire are cleaner than the all Wales average, according to a new report. The survey, carried out by Keep Wales Tidy , gave Carmarthenshire an overall score of 69 (out of 100) for cleanliness*. This is both an improvement on last year’s figure of 68.1 and above the all Wales figure of 67.9. The survey also found that 98.2% of streets were grade B (predominantly free of litter and refuse apart from some small items) or above, which again is an improvement on 2010/11 and above the all Wales figure. No D grade streets were found during the course of survey (heavily affected by litter and/or refuse with significant accumulations). The Local Environmental Audit and Management System (LEAMS) report has been published following surveys carried out in Carmarthenshire in July 2011 and February 2012. Carmarthenshire County Council’s Director of Technical Services Richard Workman congratulated both cleansing and environmental enforcement staff for all their hard work. He...

  Environmental campaigners  Keep Wales Tidy  are calling on volunteers to help out with a clean-up of Llansteffan beach in a bid to restore it to its former glory. The date of the event is on Friday 24th of February at 10.00am, and volunteers are asked to gather next to the recycling bins in the beach car park where they will receive a short informal briefing. All tools and equipment (excluding clothing) will be provided. The event, in partnership with Carmarthenshire County Council will be co-ordinated under the banner of the Tidy Towns project; a Welsh Government funded initiative aimed at restoring pride in the aesthetic appearance of villages, towns and the countryside of Wales. Keep Wales Tidy’s Project Officer for Carmarthenshire; Daniel Snaith said, “Unfortunately the beach does suffer from littering, some of which is brought in with the tide, hence the appeal to people living in the surrounding communities to spare a few hours to give the areas a good...

A total of 1,034 bags of rubbish have been collected in Tidy Towns projects across Carmarthenshire in just the past six months. Since April, the team has worked with 367 volunteers, 24 community groups and five schools and the Tidy Towns cleansing operatives have travelled some 4,170 miles. An additional £100,000 funding has also been secured towards various community projects. Activities carried out include river clean-ups, beach clean-ups, habitat management, cycle track clean-ups, community skip days, litter-picks and overgrowth clearance projects. Tidy Towns is a Welsh Government-funded initiative delivered in partnership by Carmarthenshire County Council and Keep Wales Tidy. The aim is to encourage and support communities to improve the quality of their local environment. Executive Board Member for Regeneration Councillor Clive Scourfield said: “It is important that people take pride in where they live and Tidy Towns helps communities to achieve this by assisting volunteers to u...

Volunteers have helped to create a new footpath in woods near Llangennech. The project at Troserch Community Woodland was a partnership between Tidy Towns, the Prince’s Trust Cymru, Troserch Woods Society and Keep Wales Tidy and the aim was to improve access and to help develop the circular walk that runs around the woods. Previously walkers had to get up a steep bank which, in wet weather, became slippery, resulting in a number of trails being created, and leading to erosion and the trampling of vegetation and bugs. But thanks to the hard work of volunteers, a new footpath has been constructed which means walkers can descend or ascend the bank safely and without being a threat to the natural environment. Keep Wales Tidy’s Carmarthenshire Officer Dan Snaith said, “Once again, the Prince’s Trust volunteers have demonstrated a great commitment to their course by contributing to a community project for the benefit of others. “The project was completed in the allocated time, and the finish...

As part of Tidy Wales Week 2011, volunteers from 5th Carmarthen Scouts got their hands dirty as they set about improving access at a Carmarthen beauty spot. The volunteers joined forces with Keep Wales Tidy, and spent two evenings working on the footpaths around Cwmoernant Ponds; cutting back overgrown vegetation, edging the paths and cleaning leaves from the walkways. The ponds have recently undergone habitat works undertaken by the Environment Agency, and the ponds also provide good fishing opportunities. Dan Snaith, Keep Wales Tidy’s Carmarthenshire officer, said, “The ponds at Cwmoernant are a fantastic asset to Carmarthen and its surrounding area, and provide a fantastic recreational area for leisure time. It is important though that these areas are managed for the benefit of visitors and wildlife alike. Therefore, the scouts have set an excellent example to their peers by undertaking this kind of voluntary work, and I hope that many more people, of all ages would come forward to ...

Children from Ysgol Dewi Sant in Llanelli have been having fun and learning about the environment with Eco Eli and Tidy Ted. The council’s eco-friendly elephant hit the road with the all-singing and all-dancing Gregory Brothers and new friend Tidy Towns mascot Tidy Ted. Together they have been spreading the word on issues such as waste reduction and recycling, litter and dog fouling. Funded through grants from the Welsh Assembly Government, the fun-packed show is a partnership between Carmarthenshire County Council and Tidy Towns. It has been visiting Welsh language primary schools across the county. Executive Board Member for Education Cllr Gwynne Wooldridge said: “The show helps to raise awareness of the environment and what we can do to protect it in a light-hearted and entertaining way. “It educates the children on why we need to reduce and recycle our waste and the harm caused by littering and dog fouling in our towns and villages. It really is an excellent way of deliverin...

A woman from Ammanford has been fined £75 for dropping a cigarette end in Carmarthen town centre. The council’s environmental enforcement officers issued the fixed penalty notice to the 19-year-old in Cambrian Way. Failure to pay could result in prosecution in the magistrates court where the maximum fine is £2,500. It coincides with a county-wide campaign, supported by Tidy Towns, to raise awareness of smoking-related litter. Council education and awareness officers have been handing out free pocket ashtrays in Carmarthen, Llanelli and Ammanford. Discarded cigarette ends make up the largest proportion of litter in Carmarthenshire with visible evidence of smoking-related litter found on 83 per cent of the streets inspected by Keep Wales Tidy. The council’s director of technical services Richard Workman said: “We do not want to fine people, but we will not hesitate to do so if they continue to litter in this way. Many people do not think of cigarette ends as litter, but they are. They ma...