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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’s 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 Flintshire County Council 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: Flintshire’s 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’s 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: “The 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.” 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’s 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 “This year’s Big Dee Day was a resounding success and I’d like to thank everyone involved for their hard work in making it happen. It’s 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.” 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’s Quay High School and Martin Redhead. Caption - Volunteers from Mill Lane Allotment Association and staff from Groundwork after their clean-up at Wepre Brook