Pillgwenlly Launch Event

We had a great day in Newport getting to know the community and finding out how they want to improve their area. One 92 year old resident really wants to see the young people clearing up after themselves! She dosen't like all their rubbish being left behind. Another bone of contention was pet owners not picking up their doggy deposits after walking their pets!

If you've got an idea for an environmental project in the Pill area please get in touch at one of the contact details listed on this site.

Neath North Community Skip

During the Neath North launch event many residents from Leonard Street enquired how they could get rid of items if they had no transport to the local civic amenity site. With that in mind I set about organising a community skip event where residents are invited to utilise the skip to dispose of unwanted items responsibly.

On arriving I thought we were in for a quiet day, how wrong could you be? Residents bought out an eclectic mix of items including bricks, rubble, furniture, rabbit hutch, desk chair, trampoline, gaming chair, prams, bicycles, broken patio furniture even an old toilet - in fact everything including a kitchen sink!

In no time at all the entire skip was filled and residents were thanking me enthusiastically for this initiative. We left Leonard Street knowing that we had improved the environments of over 25 households and a full skip was en-route for recycling at the local site in Briton Ferry.

Lime Kiln Woods - Pictures

Lime Kiln Woods Litter Pick - Brackla

I was really excited to be invited to participate in this interesting event in Brackla. The woodland has unfortunately seen a decline in its maintenance and is in dire need of some care and attention. I joined forces with the Brackla Communities First team and their environment group to assist local residents in a cleanup.
Early that morning Bridgend CBC had cut a path directly into the heart of the woods giving easier access and their operatives continued thinning out overgrown areas throughout the day. Local residents and their children were later joined by Western & Wales and Link housing officers to remove 21 bags of rubbish 2 tyres, plastic pond liner, fibreglass piping and numerous other items of furniture and unwanted household objects that had been dumped there over time.
By the end of the afternoon, access was hugely improved and the woods looked 100% better thanks to the tenacity of the volunteers attending.

EXCITING NEWS - The site is being considered for a community tree house for a Sky 1 TV series which will make the whole area a fantastic community asset to be used by local residents all year round. The site was chosen by SKY TV, because of the environmental work already undertaken by the local community, so a huge well done to everyone involved in all the improvements to the woods and keep up the good work.

Planned Projects in Blaenymaes & Penlan

Phil Davies in Blaenymaes and Penlan has been busy planning events to commence during the school holidays. Some of the projects the community hope to tackle in Blaenymaes and Penlan include:

Blaenymaes
• Cleanups in preparation for the SPARK fun days and other events during the holidays
• Creating a garden in Youth Centre with raised beds, recycled plastic bottle greenhouse, portable planters for homes & public areas and a willow arch/dome planting
• Church Garden Improvement
• Planting over 500 trees for the Penllergare Valley Woods project
Penlan
• Gardd Blodyn – Garden improvement work
• Penlan Methodist Church grounds
• Residents will be re-planting the front area at the Penderry Road shops.
• At the South Penlan community centre an area for growing vegetables & flowers will be created for community use and the possibility to build a greenhouse will be explored
• Re-planting of the St Claires Roundabout
• North Penlan Community centre – Activities with youth service, litterpicks, clean-ups etc
• Community re-planting at the Crwys Terrace shop front area
• Litter picks and flytipping clearance at the Tudno & Emrys estate

Phil is busy working with the communities First teams, youth service and residents to finalise dates for all these projects. If you are interested in getting involved or volunteering please contact Phil on 07824 504 807 or Philip.davies@keepwalestidy.org for more information

Neath East Community Camera Pictures

To view the pictures from the Neath East community camera before shots please click on the link above.

Some projects they hope to tackle are unemptied dog fouling bins, an overgrown walkway and community garden. Keep a close eye on this blog for their next update.

Residents from the Fairyland estate nominated a community area to benefit from some of the Outcomes funding. Previously identified as a space for a flower bed the resident’s hopes are to turn an unused circular bed into a colourful area with a crimson maple tree as the focal point. NPT Homes have kindly given permission to use the area which will eventually be dedicated to precious young lives lost from the estate in recent years.
Fairyland has a very pro-active residents group on the estate and this project will be an environmental improvement for both the estate and the community. The recreational site is already well used by residents of all ages and is a space where children get together to play and parents get together to socialise. The tree will inject colour into a drab and colourless landscape and provide a permanent memory of those who have tragically passed away early in their lives.

The weather was sunny and so was the disposition of the residents who joined us to fill a skip with nearly 2 tonnes of rubbish in Neath North on Wednesday 27th July. A lovely couple completely emptied their rear yard and were looking forward to using it for a family BBQ at the weekend! They kindly kept us well supplied with tea and kit-kat’s throughout the morning and beguiled us with their memories of how the street used to be before the flyover was installed!
A variety of articles were also swapped on the day, including a desk chair, bicycle and wood for garage shelves! The best form of recycling is to reuse items as this reduces the amount of energy required to recycle or re-make the item and also reduces the amount of raw materials required.
If you live in Neath North or East and would like a community skip in your area please contact Kathryn Britton on 07776 188 613 or kathryn.britton@keepwalestidy.org