A grant application has been made to "Tidy Towns"

What will this grant enable you to do?

Criw Niwbwrch Cyf is a Community owned company that renovated and refurbished “Eglwys Bach” and its grounds into a local community facility. It now manages the hall and successfully engages with all sections of the community especially the young, the elderly and disadvantaged.

Litter is a big problem in parts of Newborough village as well as in Eglwys Bach’s grounds and it is hoped to start a local campaign that will address some of the issues to make Newborough a tidier place to live in and for visitors to come to.

We provide facilities and activities for children and young people in our After School Club, Youth Club, drop in youth group and holiday playschemes. Activities where children and young people have tidied and planted the raised beds to the rear of “Eglwys Bach”, planted spring bulbs in decorative planters to the front of the building have already taken place and now we want to extend our activities by raising their awareness of keeping the area tidy not only for the users of “Eglwys Bach” but for the surrounding area.

The grant will enable the purchase of litter pickers, strong black bags, hoops to make litter collection easier and highway vests for safety. It will also help to purchase two litterbins for “hot spots”, areas where children and young people congregate and where there is a lot of unsightly litter, where currently there is no provision. The bins will look much brighter once decorated and very different to the county council bins. One of the designated areas is near the MUGA – Multi Use Games Area, next to Newborough Primary School and the second is near to “Eglwys Bach” the Community Hall where most of the activities for children and young people take place.

What do you hope to achieve?

We are hoping that by providing appropriate information in our activities with children and young people about the dangers of litter dropping and by encouraging them to actively play a part in lessening it, their awareness and the environment will significantly be improved.

By taking the primary children on a litter pick in their own grounds and surrounding area, with the help of the local Keep Wales Tidy Project Officer, we are hoping to provide a fun activity that will illustrate how there can be improvement in their area. The tools bought by the grant will be used on other occasions with young people when other areas of the village can be targeted on a regular basis.

Taking an initiative from a similar activity carried out in Liverpool, it is hoped to put children’s and young people’s artwork, onto vinyl. These pictures will then be transferred onto the new litter bins to make them look bright and inviting and to help the youngsters claim the bins as their own and encourage their appropriate use, to raise awareness of keeping the village tidy and to instil a sense of pride in their environment. Above the pictures will be printed bilingually something like, “Helping to make Newborough a Tidy Village” or a logo etc. (An example of this type of work is enclosed).

What are your planned activities/events?

Prior to the half term holiday, Gareth Owen, the Keep Wales Tidy Project Officer and a member of Criw Niwbwrch committee will visit the local primary school by arrangement with Mr Thomas, Headteacher, to talk to the children about the dangers and unsightliness of litter in the environment. Mr Owen will be providing visual aids to help demonstrate the message of our visit. We believe that by targeting primary age children, this will have a greater impact on future litter issues. A litter pick will then be carried out in the school grounds and its immediate environs. We are hoping to weigh the amount of litter collected and a certificate awarded to the school as a result.

On the same occasion, a member of the committee will outline details of the half term activities at Eglwys Bach when the children will be involved in providing artwork using recycled materials for the new bins. During February half term an art session is planned for at Eglwys Bach open to children/young people of Newborough and district. A qualified art tutor will help the youngsters to make their designs for the litterbins. These pictures will then be processed onto vinyl and put onto the bins. Funding for this activity has been applied for via Cymorth Free Access Play grant. Once the artwork has been photographed for the vinyl application, the artwork will then go on display at Eglwys Bach and at the school to reinforce the importance of keeping Wales tidy.