Varsity Volunteers

On Wednesday 30th March the annual Cardiff v Swansea Varsity Sports Day took place in Cardiff and environmental charity Keep Wales Tidy was on hand throughout the day working in partnership with Cardiff University Student’s Union and Cardiff County Council to manage the site for litter.

Some of the volunteers preparing for the day ahead

An army of Keep Wales Tidy volunteers was out and about patrolling the Pontcanna site to encourage the estimated 3000 spectators to use the bins provided and litter-pick any rubbish that goes astray. In return, Cardiff University made a generous donation to Keep Wales Tidy to enable them to support even more volunteering and provided complimentary tickets to all volunteers for the flagship rugby varsity match.

Volunteers were busy litter picking throughout the day and worked immensely hard to ensure the site was left spotless. At the end of the event a sweep of the site was undertaken and over 85% of the litter that was collected has been recycled.

Just some of the litter left behind and collected

During the day, KWT signed students up to Keep Wales Tidy’s ‘I Will for Wales’ campaign which asks people to make small lifestyle changes that can improve the look and feel of their local area. The volunteer army was be kitted out in campaign T-shirts and encouraging spectators to make environmental resolutions that range from promising to dispose of cigarette butts responsibly and using a bag for life, to volunteering to help local community groups.

Keep Wales Tidy’s Projects Director, Louise Tambini said; “We were delighted to be working in partnership with Cardiff University Student’s Union and Cardiff Council on this initiative. Events like this give us a great opportunity to engage with the student population to get our important environmental message across. Thank you to all the volunteers who worked tirelessly to clean the site”

President of Cardiff Students’ Union, Olly Birrell said; “The Students’ Union was really pleased to have the support of the Keep Wales Tidy team at this year’s Varsity competition. Their contribution made a huge difference to the day games, and we appreciate the time and effort that went into planning this.”

Cardiff’s students plan for the future; Sustainability and the Environment – Student Community Action Plan Event

Thinking big but acting locally is the key message at today’s event being held to revise the Cardiff Student Community Plan.

Professor Ken Peattie, from Cardiff University’s Sustainable Places Research Institute will address delegates at the event to revise the Cardiff student Community Plan, outlining how thinking global can help have an impact locally. The Research Institute is taking an entirely new approach to the science of sustainability, leading to the development of sustainable solutions applied to real places around the world.
 

The Student Community Plan has been developed in partnership with the universities Cardiff University, the University of Wales Institute Cardiff (UWIC) and the University of Glamorgan, and Cardiff Council to address a wide range of local issues. It contains a number of key actions that will seek to address the needs of Cardiff’s student population and its impact on the local community.

The event and plan brings together a huge range of stakeholders with students issues and agendas including but not exclusively the universities, unions, the community, police, landlords/letting agencies, public health services (Police, Fire, NHS) charities, advisory services, NUS, private stakeholders including private hall providers, various Council services such as private sector housing, waste management, trading standards, health and public protection, noise pollution et al to work on a number of student focused actions.

Commenting on the plan, Councillor Judith Woodman, Cardiff Council Deputy Leader for communities said: “I would like to thank all those who have been involved in developing this important action plan. The document will play a critical role in sustaining partnership working between the Council, local universities and our stakeholders in order to both maintain Cardiff’s success as a university city and to improve the quality of life of students and residents alike.”


The Council and the universities jointly fund the Student Liaison Officer, Kieran McCann (http://www.cardiffdsigs.co.uk/), who manages the implementation of the plan. After the event the Action Plan will be updated and presented to the University Quartet made up of the Vice Chancellors of the Universities, Corporate Director of the Council and Deputy leader of the Council.

Cardiff Students’ Union Elections

Campaigning begins today across campus for the Cardiff Students’ Union Elections

Download the list of candidates standing for each position here

You can come along and quiz your candidates at the Candidate Question time on Thursday 17th at 6.30pm in the great hall.

The Union show ‘cardifference’ Friday 18th 12-1 on http://www.xpressradio.co.uk/ has an exclusive interview with the current Union president Olly Birrell talking about the elections, how you can vote, why it’s important to get involved and all about his work this year and his aspirations for the coming years. So tune in.

Download the candidate’s manifestos at:

http://www.gairrhydd.com/

The Executive Committee are the elected representative of the whole student body who work for you to make sure that your views are represented. Part of this committee are the Elected Officers, a team of students who have taken a break from their studies or recently graduated who are elected yearly by the student body to lead the union as a whole. All positions are up for election.

Free Cardiff v Swansea Varsity tickets in exchange for a bit of volunteering

Free Cardiff v Swansea Varsity tickets in exchange for a bit of volunteering

On Wed 30th March the annual Cardiff v Swansea varsity sports day is taking place in Cardiff. The majority of games will be held during the day on the Pontcanna pitches and at the Welsh Institute of Sport, before the flagship rugby match in the Millennium Stadium at 7.30pm.

The event attracts about 2500 spectators and so unfortunately will also generate a sizable amount of litter

So, we need your help! We need volunteers to patrol the fields to litter-pick rubbish and promote the ‘I Will’ campaign from 12 - 6pm.

Volunteers who work for at least 2 hours will be given a free ticket to watch the rugby match (cost £10) and a free Keep Wales Tidy ‘I Will’ T-shirt to wear.

So, if you would like to help please let Louise know the following info

Name:
Time you are available:
Contact phone number:
T-shirt size:

Louise Tambini, Project Director for Keep Wales Tidy
Mobile: 07824 504790
E-mail: louise.tambini@keepwalestidy.org
Web site: www.keepwalestidy.org

The aim of ‘I Will’ is to encourage the people of Wales to make a resolution that will help care for their local environment and improve the look and feel of the community.

Learn more about the I Will campaign here and in our blog post here

Property registration

Yesterday http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/ with our partners at Waste Management, The Police and the Census were on hand in Cardiff Students Union giving out advice.


The Police were specifically brought in to talk to students about any recent security concerns and give out safety and security advice in light of the latest Gair Rhydd article about burglary in the area which can be found here

PC Tim Davies giving out safety advice
and helping students sign up to immobilise

Students are again being targeted by burglars, with a number of reported incidents taking place over the last few weeks. Police were keen to stress that Cardiff is a safe city but were warning students to remain vigilant. Tim Davies, Police Student Liaison Officer was on hand offering safety advice and sign ups to the immobilise service.

Immobilise is a free national property register, enabling users to register their valuable property with the police to help the recovery of stolen goods and catch criminals.

It is a free service and the recommendation is that everyone should register their valuables on the website http://www.immobilise.com/

Tim and his team were also on hand stressing the importance of remembering our Lock it. Hide it. Keep it. campaign as opportunist burglars are also trying student front and rear doors. If they find an open door they rush in stealing what ever is to hand. This even takes place when people are at home so please remember to lock doors for your own safety. For more advice please visit our Lock it. Hide it. Keep it. pages here

PC Tim Davies and Student Liaison Kieran McCann reminding
students about Lock it. Hide it. Keep it.

Monthly Student Advice Stand

Happy St. David’s Day from everyone at http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/

Every first Tuesday of the month we are at Cardiff Students Union (in the kitchen area) 12-2 giving out advice. Today we will be joined by our partners at Waste Management, The Police and the Census.

Come along for safety and security advice from the police especially after the latest Gair Rhydd article about burglary in the area which can be found here

Or advice about the new food waste kerbside collection scheme in the area – our blog post about this can be found here

Or information about the census and why it is important to fill in the survey (aside from the massive fine you could receive if you don’t complete it as it’s a legal requirement) more information can also be found here

All this alongside your usual http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/ advice about living and studying in Cardiff

Hope to see you there