May's monthly update

I've been even more busy than usual recently, so updating some history from May onwards...

May (and early June’s) largest event was probably the final touches on the Pond in Splott. This was right on top of an old pond in Ysgol Glan Morfa. It was rebuilt and populated with native plants and it was surrounded by a greenwood fence and gate all for £370 (£300 Tidy Towns & £70 South Splott Residents’ Association). We involved the school, local Church Groups & Partners from John Lewis came along and prepared the wood and installed the fence. The kids from Ysgol Glan Morfa organised a grand opening day and dedicated the area to the memory of a much loved member of staff who had recently passed away. Everyone loves it and everyone really cares about it. Summary pics here: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjzokx73

Part of the pond in Ysgol Glan Morfa's grounds

This month saw the opening of the Wales Coastal Path, of which some passes along the Southern edge of Cardiff (Map here: http://flic.kr/p/bB22qg). We hosted several events along the coastal path in strong winds and torrential driving rain in Atlantic Wharf (http://flic.kr/s/aHsjz7brcm) to glorious conditions near Rover way with the largest ever CFMEP event with 30+people 90 bags of rubbish (http://flic.kr/s/aHsjzD8khx)

Coastal Path Clean Up, 50 odd of the 90 bags collected

We did some beautiful clean ups along the Taff in Forest Farm where the trees where laden with sanitary towels. The sky however was blue, the water calm and afterwards the bank looked fantastic (http://flic.kr/s/aHsjzrZ4Zv).

Forest Farm before and after

Did my first litterpick in leafy Llanishen and was rewarded with the find of the month of a slug which was at least 10 inches long (http://flic.kr/p/byFand).

10 inch slug

Did our first Chapel Wood tidy up between local school kids, who we have been working very closely with over the last 2 years, and local residents. This was a particular coup as initially, nobody was interested in doing anything in these neglected but beautiful woods (http://flic.kr/s/aHsjzehTZA).

Residents, St. Philip Evans Primary School and Parks Services help clear Chapel Wood

Lastly, we have been developing links between Glyncoed Primary School and woods nearby to try and bring these back into community ownership and usage. Here with the after school eco-club, we winched a tree out from the stream, which would have attracted litter. Importantly, it was great fun and again helped to foster stronger local feeling towards these woods as an important amenity for quality of life rather than a dumping ground (http://flic.kr/s/aHsjzfZGbJ).

Log rolling