37 volunteers, including Darth Wader, (doing some good, for a change) ventured to Ely on Sunday 30 July to remove tonnes of fly-tipping and other waste from Plymouth Great Wood and the River Ely.
The team removed 3 van loads of waste from the area in just under 2 hours.
They collected over 120 bags of rubbish, plus traffic cones, furniture, numerous tyres, bikes, dozens of large sheets of polystyrene, childrens’ toys, several used nappies (ugh!), TVs, a fridge and freezer, a motorbike, and even a giant cuddly bear (that’s the one on the left, below).
Group member Louise Tambini said:
“What a fantastic turnout for a Sunday morning! It is great to see that volunteers care enough about the environment of Cardiff to come and pick up waste that other people have so carelessly discarded.
“This woodland location could be a fantastic habitat for wildlife but it is being blighted by some irresponsible local people who are using it as a rubbish dump.
“We have made a big improvement today, which I hope locals appreciate. I also hope they change their habits and start to dispose of their waste correctly, so that the wildlife will not be at risk from future dumping”.
It was great to see many new faces join the happy bunch today. The event was being filmed for a BBC documentary, so a number of volunteers dressed up for the occasion, and the Masked Avenger also joined in the fun!
Many thanks to Cardiff Council, who took all the waste away incredibly quickly, and to Park Ranger Richie Roberts, who got stuck in with the gang and provided health & safety support to Darth Wader and the river crew.
Thankfully the weather was (mostly) kind, and volunteers were able to enjoy some well-earned refreshment afterwards!
More photos from the event are on our Flickr page.
Why not come along to one of our future events and help to make a DIFFerence!