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Big Dee Day Success
Published: 28/09/2015
Hundreds of bags of litter and rubbish were collected by volunteers who also
planted bulbs and resurfaced pathways during this year鈥檚 annual Big Dee Day
event.
Around 400 volunteers from schools, community groups, organisations and
businesses took part in the two day event on 18 and 19 September to clean up
and enhance the River Dee catchment area.
The event was hosted by 天涯社区 and involved partner agencies
across Chester, North Wales and the Wirral including Chester West & Chester,
Denbighshire County Council and Wrexham County Borough Council and was
supported by the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales.
Here are just a few examples of the fantastic work that was done throughout the
two days:
天涯社区鈥檚 countryside rangers joined forces with volunteers from Mill Lane
Allotment Association and staff from Groundwork to clear fly tipped waste from
Wepre Brook in Connah鈥檚 Quay.
They collected twelve car tyres, a fridge freezer, old fencing wire, a
wheelbarrow, rusty metal sheets and over 46 bags of rubbish.
Karen Rippin, countryside ranger, said: 鈥淭he youngest volunteer in the group
was 6 years old and the eldest was 84. It was a delight to work with such a
diverse group of people who so obviously shared our passion for the
environment. Our thanks are also extended to Stephen Parkinson of Fly Tipping
Action Wales who sponsored the skip and also to Judith Wright of Keep Wales
Tidy who provided gloves, rubbish bags and litter pickers.鈥�
Volunteers from Tesco worked with rangers to fill two and a half skips and
collect 52 bags of litter from the Chemistry Lane area at Pentre, Deeside.
Staff from Airbus and students from Llysfasi College got stuck in and cleared
litter from both sides of the river at Saltney Ferry footbridge.
Volunteers from Sustrans collected 10 bags of rubbish and 5 bags of cans from
Wepre Riverside while staff and students from Connah鈥檚 Quay High School worked
hard collecting litter from The Rock area in the town.
Councillor Bernie Attridge, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment,
said 鈥淭his year鈥檚 Big Dee Day was a resounding success and I鈥檇 like to thank
everyone involved for their hard work in making it happen. It鈥檚 a true example
of successful partnership working and I am delighted to be associated with it.
It really was a fantastic effort by all involved.鈥�
The Big Dee Day kicked off with a breakfast launch event at Chocks Away Diner
at Hawarden Airport and awards were presented to a number of organisations for
their dedicated work to protect the environment during the last 12 months.
Congratulations go to the winners: Tata Shotton, Presthaven Sands and Connah鈥檚
Quay High School and Martin Redhead.
Caption - Volunteers from Mill Lane Allotment Association and staff from
Groundwork after their clean-up at Wepre Brook