SVC beach clean

SVC volunteering week has started with a wave of cleanliness with a trip to the beach for a beach clean. Eleven volunteers spent Monday morning on Knapp Beach in Barry removing litter from the beach and surrounding areas. Items removed included rusty umbrellas, an unloved power sander, odd gloves, shoes and plenty of other bits and pieces.

Student Volunteering Cardiff’s (SVC) Volunteering Week continues all this week.

For the full list of events click here

Environmental Champions lent a hand at the beach sweep and will be at the Gardening Project so if you are a Champion make sure you remind us to add this to your time sheets http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/environmentalchampions.htm

As Wales’ biggest student-led charity, SVC presents a fun-filled week of one-off volunteering events and workshops designed for you to try something new and develop your CV! Each day will offer a different opportunity to give back to the Cardiff community from cleaning up a beach in the Vale of Glamorgan to a fundraising street collection in Cardiff city centre. End the week with a mini adventure with SVC and RAG’s Cardiff Jailbreak 2012 – 48 hours…no money…how far will you go?

Get involved! Do you want to boost your CV, meet new people and enhance your student experience? If so, please call the SVC office for more details on (029) 2078 1494 or pop into the office on the 3rd floor of the Students’ Union for a chat.

Fairtrade Fortnight

Fairtrade Fortnight starts today the 27th February to 11th March. Some events that you might be interested in:

Fairtrade Walks; walks passing through local fair trade outlets and farmers market.

Wednesday 29th Feb 2pm Start at Chapter Arts Centre

Saturday 10th March 10.30am meet at Albany road primary school.

Fairtrade Olive Tasting; with visiting olive farmers from Palestine, a unique opportunity to meet the producers at the beginning of the fair trade chain

Chapter Arts Centre, 7th March, 6.30-8.30pm

Chapter Art Centre has teamed up with Fair Trade Cardiff and Zaytoun, a Palestine-based charity, to host the special food-tasting event where attendees will have the opportunity to sample a range of Palestinian produce for free.

Event goers will also have the opportunity to speak with two guest olive farmers to find out more about what they are eating, where it has come from and how Fair Trade and Zaytoun are helping to support the rights and livelihoods of independent farmers in Palestine. Palestinian olive farmers Taysir Arbasi and Riziq Abu Nasser will be mingling with attendees throughout the evening, sharing stories and information about their own experiences and challenges.

http://www.fairtradewales.com/


Fair Trade Guide here

SVC week

STUDENT VOLUNTEERING WEEK


Saturday 25th February-Sunday 4th March 2012

Saturday 25th February 2012 kicks off Student Volunteering Cardiff’s (SVC) Volunteering Week. As Wales’ biggest student-led charity, SVC presents a fun-filled week of one-off volunteering events and workshops designed for you to try something new and develop your CV! Each day will offer a different opportunity to give back to the Cardiff community from cleaning up a beach in the Vale of Glamorgan to a fundraising street collection in Cardiff city centre. End the week with a mini adventure with SVC and RAG’s Cardiff Jailbreak 2012 – 48 hours…no money…how far will you go?

Get involved! Do you want to boost your CV, meet new people and enhance your student experience? If so, please call the SVC office for more details on (029) 2078 1494 or pop into the office on the 3rd floor of the Students’ Union for a chat.

For the full list of events click here
Environmental Champions will be lending a hand at the beach sweep and the Gardening Project so if you are a Champion makes sure you remind us to add this to your time sheets http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/environmentalchampions.htm

Safety advice for vechicle owners

The Local neighbourhood Policing team wish to make vehicle owners aware of a number of recent occasions whereby valuable items have been left on open show in cars in student areas. This has unfortunately led to incidences of theft from those vehicles.

Please find below some simple steps to protect your vehicle.

1. Lock the doors and close the windows when you leave your car, however long you are leaving it for.

2. Don't leave anything on display. Even an old coat, 50p or plastic bag can be a tempting target for a thief.

3. Remove the stereo if you can.

4. Don't keep valuables or important documents in the glove box. Leave the glove box open to show there is nothing inside.

5. Fold in wing mirrors to discourage vandals.

6. Keep your car keys in a safe and secure place, even in your home.

7. Consider getting an alarm fitted. Alarms can deter thieves not only from stealing your vehicle, but also from taking items from it.

For more safety information please visit: http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/safety.htm

Salisbury Square consultation event

The junction of Salisbury Road and Miskin Street is set to benefit from improvements to make the area more pedestrian friendly and a more pleasant environment for people to shop and visit.

Have your say on what you think of the proposals.

Cardiff Council would like to find out what you think of the proposals. You are invited to come along to the following consultation events so that you can give them your opinions.

• Thursday 23rd Feb 3pm - 6.30pm

• Friday 24th Feb 9am - 12.00pm

• Saturday 25th Feb 10am - 1pm

The events will be held at an exhibition trailer on the junction between Salisbury Road and Miskin Street.

To view the proposals click here

For further information please contact:

Peter Taylor, Neighbourhood Regeneration

Tel: 02920 873224 or Email petetaylor@cardiff.gov.uk

Cardiff's recycling rate surges past 50%

Cardiff Council is setting the pace with its recycling programme and is surging through the 50% barrier in terms of the percentage municipal solid waste (MSW) recycling being collected for recycling or composting. These excellent figures look set to exceed Welsh Government (WG) targets in the coming year with Cardiff becoming a leading recycling city.

The local authority has consistently improved the rate of MSW it has collected for recycling in the last 2 years, and since the switch to a weekly recycling and food waste collection service in September the rate has risen 12% compared to the same quarter last year.

Prior to the introduction of weekly recycling and food waste collections in September last year recycling rates had improved steadily from last year’s figure of 42%, but since the new service changes were implemented the Council is delighted to report that the recycling rate for the last three months of 2011 has soared to 54%.

This is an excellent achievement and the response from Cardiff residents has been fantastic. Residents have never had a better opportunity to recycle and compost the waste they produce, and the Council is grateful to them for the enthusiastic way they have embraced the authority’s sustainable vision.

For all your waste responsibilities advice please visit here http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/waste.htm

Executive Member for Environment, Cllr Margaret Jones, said, “This is a very significant achievement for Cardiff Council and its residents and we’re delighted with the progress made so far. As well as achieving sustainability goals it also decreases the future cost of landfill tax and landfill allowance scheme penalties as well as recycling fines that could otherwise rapidly accumulate to millions of pounds over a few years. I thank the residents of Cardiff for working with us to make the recycling collection changes such a success. The results are fantastic so far, and I hope we can all work together to ensure we keep improving and building on this excellent set of figures.”

Go Global returns this Saturday

Cardiff Student Union is celebrating the extraordinary diversity that exists in their student body. Now entering its fifth year, their annual festival is going from strength to strength. Go Global (Feb 18th-26th) is Cardiff University Guild of Societies' week long series of student led events ranging from cultural exhibitions, art workshops and taster sessions to food festivals, dances and much more.

The week draws to a climactic close with Global Village, a showcase of some of the highlights of the week, some fine international cuisine and a chance to see performances from students, 'some of whom would not be out of place on a national stage'.

Go Global is your opportunity to experience the other cultures which surround you during your time at University, right here in Cardiff. It is a platform for many students to express themselves and share their heritage.

The full schedule of events can be found here

Praise for University after bike theft arrests

POLICE have praised Cardiff University security staff following the arrest of two men for attempted bicycle thefts this month.

Security Staff helping students with security marking bikes 

On both occasions the men were arrested as a result of security staff noticing suspicious behaviour in Park Place around lunchtime on Thursday, February 2 and Thursday, February 9.

Closer inspection by staff viewing CCTV cameras found they were discreetly using bolt cutters in an attempt to steal bikes.

Security staff immediately called police ensuring that arrests were made within hours of both incidents.

Pc Tim Davies, student liaison officer, said: "Obviously it is concerning that there are thieves out there during the day targeting cycles around the university area but thankfully security staff are alert to this activity and on these two occasions prevented bikes being stolen.

We want to encourage people to continue using bicycles to get around the city but would remind staff and students to invest in a D-lock to secure their cycles”.

There is also a free security-marking event on Thursday, February 23 between 11am and 3pm at the Trevithick Building on Richmond Road near the junction with Newport Road which all bikes owners are invited to attend.

"South Wales Police is committed to keeping our communities staff and protecting property - together we can make life harder for criminals."

Click here to visit Student Safety pages and learn more about immobilise – a free property registration service to protect your valuables

Dr Bike Sale and repair service

Cardiff Cycle Workshop are hosting a Dr Bike repair service and sale in the main car park of Cardiff University (opposite the SU building) today 11am - 2pm. Reconditioned bikes will be on sale at bargain prices or you can treat your bike to some free maintenance and repair.

The events is part of Go Green week, a week of events aimed at inspiring students and staff to take action to prevent climate change. The week will raise awareness of climate change through fun and engaging activities

For hints and tips about Going Green and the path to sustainable living please visit:

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

Go Green Week is part of an annual national event co-ordinated by People & Planet, a student led campaigning network, and supported by the NUS. Over 100 schools, colleges and universities have signed up this year to run creative and practical activities that promote sustainable living.

Go Green Week aims to highlight the education sector's role in achieving a reduction in the UK's carbon emissions and influencing student and staff sustainable behaviour.

Go Green

Students at Cardiff University Students’ Union are holding a week of events aimed at inspiring students and staff to take action to prevent climate change. On 6 - 12 February, students and staff will join forces to hold Go Green Week, which will raise awareness of climate change through fun and engaging activities, such as Meat free Monday and Zero-Waste Wednesday.

For hints and tips about Going Green and the path to sustainable living please visit:
http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/gogreen.htm

Go Green Week is part of an annual national event co-ordinated by People & Planet, a student led campaigning network, and supported by the NUS. Over 100 schools, colleges and universities have signed up this year to run creative and practical activities that promote sustainable living such as Big Green Makeover clinics that provide energy-saving advice, vegetarian cooking workshops and Can Film Festivals which encourage students to recycle cans in exchange for free film screenings.

Go Green Week aims to highlight the education sector's role in achieving a reduction in the UK's carbon emissions and influencing student and staff sustainable behaviour. In order to retain government funding the higher education sector has to achieve carbon emissions reductions of at least 50% by 2020. However the most recent People & Planet Green League(4), a league table ranking all UK universities' green performance, showed that carbon emissions have actually risen by 4% since 2005.


MEAT FREE MONDAY

One-off special vegetarian menu in the Taf

TALK TUESDAY

Evening talk & film on tar sands, 7pm-9pm, IT room third floor SU*

Fruit & Veg co-op, 11am-4pm, reception third floor SU

ZERO-WASTE WEDNESDAY

Stitch & bitch, 7pm-9pm, Kitchen SU

Environmental Champions, 4.30pm, reception third floor SU

SUSTAINABLE THURSDAY

Bike marking / Bike doctors, 11am-2pm, University Main Building car park, Park Place

Debate workshops “Being Green is pointless when other countries are not”, 7pm-9pm, Humanities building cafe. Email carys.parry@hotmail.co.uk to confirm your attendance

PARTY FRIDAY

Drinks, hosted by People & Planet society, 7pm, Embassy Cafe

Finish the week off with a bit of a party, and join the People & Planet society in the Embassy cafe at 7pm for a few drinks to celebrate a brilliant Go Green Week! (36 Cathays Terrace, CF24 4HX – google it if you don’t know it).

Get Involved, Love the World you live in!
For hints and tips about Going Green and the path to sustainable living please visit:

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

SCAM; too good to be true?

Police in Cardiff are warning of an apparent scam that has taken place in the Roath and Cathays area.
On Friday, February 3 South Wales Police received a report from a student that he had been approached by two men in Maindy Road offering to sell speakers at a reduced price.

He handed over his money but the items turned out to be faulty.

Since then student liaison officer Pc Tim Davies had become aware of two further similar incidents also involving students.

He said: "The student was approached by two men in a van on Tuesday, January 31 stating they had spare speakers to sell.

"They claimed they were top quality and allowed him to listen. He then paid £270 for the speakers but when he got home he found they were of very poor quality.

"We would always advise buying electrical items from a reputable supplier - if the offer seems too good to be true,! then it probably is."