Monday 31 October 2011

cardiffdigs and Environmental Champions Flash mob Cardiff Bay

@cardiffdigs and the Environmental Champions joined hundreds of other supporters at a flash mob the size of Wales.


A massive flash mob descended on Cardiff Bay and flooded the area outside of the WMC to form the shape of Wales using all manner of props to give the area a "rainforesty" feel complemented by a film crew who captured this moment for an advert to support the cause.





The Size of Wales Project aims to bring everyone in Wales together to protect tropical forests.

How often have you heard the alarming news that an area of rainforest the size of Wales is being cut down? The Size of Wales Project aims to turn that negative use of the country’s size on its head, by encouraging people to take positive action and help protect an area of rainforest equivalent to the size of Wales.

Wales is 2 million hectares, so they need all the help you can give.



For more information and how you can get involved visit: http://www.sizeofwales.org.uk/

Sustainability Week is here

Sustainability Week is taking place all this week; starting off by raising sustainability awareness with a Halloween Twist!

Come along to an Eco Halloween Fayre today from 11am till 4pm



Eco Halloween Fayre

Monday 31st October, 11am - 4pm

Main Building, Park Place, Cardiff University

Open to All & Free to Attend!

Be an ethical ghoul or an eco wizard!

• Halloween Food & Recipes

• Exciting Stalls & Ethical Products

• Costume Ideas

• Facepainting Tips

• Interactive Activities & Crafts

Find out about social and environmental sustainability from charities, businesses & organisations including: Lush Cosmetics, Halcyon Daze, Size of Wales, www.cardiffdigs.co.uk, YMCA Prefab Boutique, Canton Carbon Cutters, RSPB, National Museum of Wales, Oxfam Boutique, Eco-Explore, FairDo’s, Fruit & Veg Co-Op and many more

The full list of the week’s events can be found here:

http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/sustainability/week/

Any http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/ Environmental Champions that attend these events can have the time counted towards their timesheets for your end of year certificate presentations. Please keep a note of the events and time you attended from and till and e-mail your SVC co-ordinator Environmental Champions

Saturday 29 October 2011

Hallo-clean not Halloween litter pick


Last Thursday the 27th of November the Environmental Champions braved thunderous conditions to help clean up Cathays. The spook-tacular litter pick was slightly tainted by the weather conditions but Chris Davies, Alec Care, and Cllr Simon Pickard joined Chris Partridge from Keep Wales Tidy to tackle the waste within Cogan Gardens. Items such as a geological hammer, a kayak paddle and plenty of bottles were removed from the gardens and surrounding area.

Due to the weather making the litter pick feel more like a hallo-wash out than a hallo-clean the volunteer turn out was slightly disappointing, however the event was very positive in forging some future ideas around more regular partnership litter pick events in Cathays with Keep Wales Tidy and the Environmental Champions

Even despite the rain the volunteers collected and removed large volumes of waste and still managed to raise a ghostly smile.

You can view more photos of the day here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/keep_wales_tidy/6286521301/in/set-72157627992004796/

The event was part of Sustainability Week whcih takes place from the 31st of October all events are listed on these pages: http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/sustainability/week/

Get It Out For Cardiff 2011 boosts Lord Mayor's Charity

Kieran, Fiona, Roshan, Nick and Chris present cheque to the Lord Mayor

The Lord Mayor’s charity, Cancer Research Wales has benefitted to the tune of nearly £740 as the Get It Out for Cardiff 2011 campaign concluded the last of its three successful kitchen reuse sales at Cardiff University Students Union and UWIC.

This reuse scheme collects and re-uses unwanted kitchen items from leaving students and resells to new students. The items would otherwise have been destined for the streets or landfill at the end of the last summer term. The scheme has been a resounding success with over 9 tonnes of items collected at halls of residence and the Students Union throughout the summer.

Kitchen utensils such as pots, pans, plates, cutlery and mugs were offered for sale at the beginning of term and the team built from a partnership between www.cardiffdigs.co.uk, Cardiff Council, Keep Cardiff Tidy, Cardiff University Students Union and Raise and Give (RAG) presented the Lord Mayor with a cheque for £736.30 at the Mansion House in Cardiff.

The Lord Mayor, Cllr Delme Bowen said, “This really is a wonderful effort by the Get it Out for Cardiff team and I’m delighted they chose Cancer Research Wales as the beneficiary of the money raised as every penny collected by this fine charity stays in Wales. This is a great example of partnership working coming up with innovative ways to divert unwanted items from landfill or being dumped on the streets. This helps keeps our streets clean and helps a number of charities including my chosen charity as Lord Mayor. I can’t praise this initiative enough and I’m very grateful indeed to receive the cheque on behalf of Cancer Research Wales.”

Executive Member for Environment, Cllr Margaret Jones, said, “Once again, the Get it Out for Cardiff team has delivered great results in terms of collecting unwanted items from students and putting them to good use. This model of partnership working is a prodigious force for good in our efforts to reduce, re-use and recycle and underlines our commitment to live in a truly sustainable city.”

Student Liaison Officer, Kieran McCann http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/ said, “It takes a huge amount of effort to put this campaign together but the results are stunning and the benefits far reaching in terms of the recycling message put forward and the involvement of charities. The final icing on the cake is being able to present the Lord Mayor with a cheque for his charity, Cancer Research Wales. Every year we try to improve what we do and the work for next year’s campaign begins now.”

Meeting the Lord Mayor at Mansion House

Wednesday 26 October 2011

Join a flash mob the Size of Wales!

www.cardiffdigs.co.uk are supporting Cardiff University's Sustainability week and Size of Wales http://www.sizeofwales.org.uk/

Sustainability Week is our chance to work together to help drive forward the sustainable development agenda.
A week-long event with talks, discussions, film screenings, food co-operatives, and more, the aim is to provide an event that is varied, challenging, inspiring and thought-provoking, and one for the whole University community.
Tomorrow 27th October is your chance to participate in a Hallo-clean litter pick
http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk in association with it's Environmental Champions and Keep Wales Tidy are organising Hallo-clean a Ghostly themed litter pick all details here: http://cardiffdigs.blogspot.com/2011/10/hallow-clean-not-halloween.html
Then on Sunday join a flash mob the size of Wales!
If you’re passionate about protecting rainforest, this is the chance to be part of something unique and massive.
On 12.30pm for a 1pm start Sunday 30th October a massive flash mob will descend on Cardiff Bay and flood the area outside of the WMC and form up the shape of Wales using all manner of props that we are having made to give the area a "rainforesty" feel complemented by a film crew to capture this moment for an advert to support the cause.
We are looking for people of all ages and backgrounds to be a part of this unique flash mob. All we ask is for individuals and groups to amass dressed in brown and green clothes (camouflage would be great too!)
Email rob@ziplinecreative.co.uk or call 07757620754 for more specific information and to let us know who you are and who you’ll be bringing!

Sustainability Week takes place from the 31
st of October and all events are listed on these pages:


Starting off by Raising Sustainability Awareness with a Halloween Twist!
Eco Halloween Fayre Poster
Monday 31st October, 11am - 4pm
Main Building, Park Place, Cardiff University

Open to All & Free to Attend!
Be an ethical ghoul or an eco wizard!
  • Halloween Food & Recipes
  • Exciting Stalls & Ethical Products
  • Costume Ideas
  • Facepainting Tips
  • Interactive Activities & Crafts

    Find out about social and environmental sustainability from charities, businesses & organisations including: Lush Cosmetics, Halcyon Daze, Size of Wales, www.cardiffdigs.co.uk, YMCA Prefab Boutique, Canton Carbon Cutters, RSPB, National Museum of Wales, Oxfam Boutique, Eco-Explore, FairDo’s, Fruit & Veg Co-Op and many more

Any cardiffdigs.co.uk champions that attend any of these event can have the time counted towards their timesheets for the end of year certificate presentations. Please keep a note of the events and time you attended from and till and e-mail your SVC co-ordinator Environmental Champions

Monday 24 October 2011

Hallow-clean not Halloween

On Thursday 27th October – http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/ in association with Environmental Champions and Keep Wales Tidy are organising Hallo-clean a Ghostly themed litter pick with the Cathays Youth & Community Centre – free Witches brew (tea/coffee) and Goblin Brains (Cakes) provided after some ghoulish litter picking fun.


Meeting at 2pm Cathays Youth & Community Centre 36, Cathays Terrace, Cardiff, CF24 4HX.

All equipment and insurance provided. Please wear suitable clothing and footwear for the weather. Halloween costumes are encouraged but not essential.

Please let us know if you are attending so we have enough equipment, please e-mail to confirm your attendance at EdwardsK13@cardiff.ac.uk  or cardiffdigs@gmail.com

Monday 17 October 2011

Contaminated Vodka Warning

Cardiff Trading Standards are issuing an urgent warning to residents in regards to sales of illegal and unsafe vodka.

Label on Bottle - Front

It has come to light that there are bottles of vodka currently on sale in Cardiff, packaged with the Drop Vodka label. At this time, Trading Standards are still investigating the vodka’s origin, and whether it is in fact counterfeit ‘bootleg’ vodka. Irrespective of this, although the label describes it as ‘vodka’, preliminary analysis of the contents has indicated that it does not contain enough alcohol to legitimately be called vodka.

Moreover, preliminary indications are that the contents contain a high level of isopropyl alcohol, which is not an ingredient of genuine vodka. In fact, isopropyl alcohol is normally used as cleaning fluid and is extremely harmful for human consumption.


Label on Bottle - Back

Wednesday 12 October 2011

Environmental Champions come knocking

21 Environmental Champions including members from the: Community, Students Union, South Wales Police, Waste Management, Councillors, Cardiff Council and The Landlords Forum joined with students for the second recycling awareness walkabout.



Set up by www.cardiffdigs.co.uk, Student Volunteering Cardiff (SVC) and Keep Cardiff Tidy the scheme is a voluntary action group working on sustainability issues. The society is working on a range of action based initiatives around sustainability, initially concentrating on ensuring people are aware of their waste and recycling responsibilities http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/waste.htm

Last night the team were knocking on doors ensuring people in Cathays and Roath were aware that recycling (green bags) and food waste (brown caddy) is a weekly collection and residual waste (black bins and bags) is fortnightly. The team were advising people about the range of items that can be recycled and how to use their food waste caddies.

Chris Davies a co-ordinator for the scheme said:

“If people are correctly recycling and using their food waste caddies then there is a limited amount that needs to go into black bins/bags en route to landfill or that accumulates in frontages prior to the fortnightly collection. A lot of people were surprised with the range and amount of items that can be recycled here in Cardiff as it differs to their local authorities back home. We were pleased to be able to help and educate not just our students but local residents to avoid any fines that might be issued if people incorrectly present their waste”

Kieran McCann, cardiffdigs said:

“I am thrilled with the range of partners and support we received. It is great to see so many different agencies coming together help educate people. A real sense of community cohesion can be achieved if people understand their social responsibilities”

The environmental champions are always keen to attract any more willing volunteers and will continue working on recycling along with other sustainability issues including a forthcoming litter pick. For more information please visit: http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/environmentalchampions.htm

For information on what you can recycle, how to use your food waste caddies and when to present your waste can be found here: http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/waste.htm People are reminded that a wall makes a world of difference. Rubbish cannot be collected if left inside the boundary of your property i.e. on your side of the property wall or in the garden. It must be placed on the pavement to ensure collection.

Monday 10 October 2011

Environmental Champions and Cardiff Rivers Group

After a successful launch of the new Environmental Champions volunteer scheme working on sustainability issues, the champions were out on Sunday assisting Cardiff Rivers Group with their litter pick and river clean up.


Environmental Champions volunteers  
The champions joined with around 16 Cardiff Rivers Group volunteers to clean an area near Llandaff Rowing Club. Volunteers retrieved tyres, trolleys, metal piping and even a few rubber ducks from out of the river and cleaned up the surrounding area.

Chris Davies one of the student volunteers said; “I was shocked by the amount and range of items collected, it was a very worthwhile day. It was a great use of time, and got me motivated to be out of the house seeing different areas of Cardiff and making a difference instead of just staying in on a Sunday. I was pleased to be able to bring along Cardiff students to the event to support Cardiff Rivers Group, and grateful to those students who showed such enthusiasm”

The next environmental champions event is Tuesday 11th October

4.30pm

3rd Floor of the Students Union – meet in the TV lounge outside the sabbatical offices/ARC office.

All welcome to attend, just turn up on the day. An induction and meeting with new volunteers is scheduled in for 6.45pm after the event for those who want to know more information http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/environmentalchampions.htm

Friday 7 October 2011

New Environmental Champions volunteer scheme take to the streets

A new Environmental Champions volunteer scheme encouraging students to dispose of their waste responsibly in their community has launched this week.


Kieran McCann launching the scheme

Supported by Cardiff Council, www.cardiffdigs.co.uk, Student Volunteering Cardiff (SVC) and Keep Cardiff Tidy; this partnership project has already received a lot of community interest with 64 students and local residents signing up at this week’s Student Volunteering Fair held at Cardiff University Students Union.

The scheme launched with a community door knock around Cathays and Roath by five groups of student and resident led volunteers as well as the Cardiff Council Waste Education & Enforcement team, Keep Cardiff Tidy, Cardiff University sabbatical officers and representatives from South Wales Police. The door knock was to remind students and other residents of their recycling and waste responsibilities, promote Tidy Text and give out tips on how and when they should present their bins and caddies.

Waste education

The response on the doorstep was very positive as many returning students were not yet aware of the new recycling service and were grateful for the advice from the teams.
Executive Member for Environment, Cllr Margaret Jones welcomed the initiative. “Students bring so much to Cardiff in terms of vibrancy and contribution to the economy. They are also valued members of the community and with that comes responsibility so this is an excellent and timely partnership given the introduction of the new weekly recycling collection service. I’m extremely pleased that the new environmental champions, drawn from students and local residents, are out there spreading the word and helping this important community adapt to the new service and help make Cardiff a green and sustainable city. A green, clean and sustainable environment should be everyone’s goal, it helps reduce crime and creates conditions for communities to thrive.”

Members of the community, students, police and waste help with the education drive
Kieran McCann, Student Liaison Officer for Cardiff Council emphasised the importance of such a scheme and the value of a having a mix of students and local residents volunteering to be Environmental Champions, he said, “If you’re presenting your waste incorrectly, there is potential of a £100 fine. No one wants to issue fines, no one wants to receive fines, what we want to do is help people, help the community out, help students and non-students alike understand their recycling and waste responsibilities. And it’s great to get a good mixture because then people get to understand they are living in a community. It’s also encouraging to get a good partnership working between a range of agencies.

“We’ve had the police out there today, local residents, councillors, students of course, Students Union reps and we’ve had Waste Management out there. It’s really important to make sure that people understand that it’s about community empowerment and engagement with your community.”

A Sabbatical Officer from Cardiff University, Sarah Halpin wanted to get involved and get out on the streets talking to students about local sustainability issues. She said, “it’s something we’re very passionate about and this is a big change in Cardiff affecting the students so we’re keen to get involved and make sure students knew what was coming and avoid any possible fines. Students have a notorious reputation, so anything we can do to improve that relationship between the Students Union and the community is really important.”

For more information on Environmental Champions visit:: http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/environmentalchampions.htm



Thursday 6 October 2011

Final Kitchen utensils re-sale


Quick; for fork's sake it is your last chance to pick up a kitchen bargain. Our third kitchen utensils re-sale from items collected in the KCT Get It Out For Cardiff campaign is this Friday (7th October) at Cardiff Students Union, Solus/reception 9am


Everyone is welcome to pick up a range of kitchen bargains including saucepans, plates, bowls and mugs for as little as 50p each.

Our running total now stands at over £600 so please help us with your donations on Friday. All money raised is being donated to the Lord Mayors charity, Cancer Research Wales. We will be presenting a cheque to him and the charity on behalf of http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/ Cardiff Students Union, Raise And Give and Keep Cardiff Tidy the following week

Want to get rid of unwanted electrical goods or bikes?

Then recycle them and help raise money for Keep Wales Tidy

Simply bring them to the FREE amnesty at

Llandaff Rowing Club on

Sunday 9th October from 12pm - 4pm

* ALL electrical items are accepted eg IT and audio equipment, household appliances, electrical toys and they DO NOT have to be in working order.

* Bikes can be donated even if they have parts missing, but, if they are too rusty or damaged beyond repair they will not be accepted

cardiffdigs.co.uk environmental champions are assisting with the Cardiff Rivers Group litter pick and river clean up that will accompany the amnesty and are offering a lift from the back of Cardiff Students Union to Llandaff at 11.15am sharp (any one requiring a lift must e-mail svc@cardiff.ac.uk before 1pm Friday)

All equipment and insurance provided and all waste from the litter-pick will be collected by CCC. Just turn up in suitable clothing and footwear/wellies.

For more information on environmental champions visit: http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/environmentalchampions.htm

Tuesday 4 October 2011

Environmental Champions starting tonight

An astounding 64 student volunteers signed up for our new innovative Environmental Champions scheme last night at the Student Volunteering Fair (SVC)

Environmental Champions stand at the SVC fair 

Many thanks to the SVC for hosting such an exciting event and for all those students who showed an interest in Environmental Champions; a voluntary action group working on sustainability issues in partnership with http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/ Cardiff Students Union & SVC alongside Keep Cardiff Tidy.

Our first event is tonight (4th October)

4.30pm

3rd Floor of the Students Union – meet in the TV lounge outside the sabbatical offices/ARC office.

Our Environmental Champions coordinators; Alec Care, Kieran McCann, Lucy Prisk 

 
We will door knocking around Cathays and the community raising awareness of waste and recycling responsibilities. Please wear suitable clothing for the weather. A briefing session will be provided at 4.30pm sharp. We should be finished by 6.30pm (for our first event some free food has been provided by the union at the de-brief)

All welcome, please just turn up this eve. We will ask you to sign in so that we can start your time sheets. At the end of the year we will be hosting a presentation ceremony and award various levels of certificates based on your time commitments.

This Sunday (9th) we are also organising a litter pick in association with Cardiff Rivers Group. A mini bus from the back of the union will be provided at 11.15am to transport people to the event in Llandaff.
Environmental Champions coordinator; Chris Davies talking with potential volunteers 

If you are unable to attend tonight or Sunday you still have the opportunity to sign up to the group or can join us on the 11th for our induction and 18th with social or for our hallo-clean litter pick more details at:

http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/environmentalchampions.htm

Thank you for expressing an interest in us, we look forward to meeting you soon.