Cadwch Gymru’n Daclus | |
Abbreviation | KWT |
---|---|
Formation | 2009 |
Registration no. | 1082058 |
Legal status | Charitable organization |
Purpose | Practical action, environmental education, training, business services and environmental solutions across Wales |
Location | |
Owen Derbyshire | |
Website | keepwalestidy |
Keep Wales Tidy is a Welsh national voluntary environmental charity which works towards achieving "a clean, safe and tidy Wales". [1] It works in partnership with Local Authorities, schools and community groups, and organisations such as Waste Awareness Wales and Environment Wales in order to achieve these goals. [2]
Keep Wales Tidy started as a campaign in 1972, funded by the Welsh Office. At this time it was an offshoot of the charity Keep Britain Tidy.
In 2000 Keep Wales Tidy established itself as a separate company, beginning the process of separation from the parent group, and this was completed in 2005. Today there are no formal ties between the two groups, although they often collaborate on common issues. [3]
In 2008 the organisation adopted a Fair Trade policy, sourcing items like coffee, tea and biscuits from Fair Trade outlets. Larger items such as staff T-shirts are also Fair Trade sourced. [4]
Keep Wales Tidy runs a number of projects, including:
This project works to improve the environment in Wales. The Welsh Assembly Government has given all Welsh local authorities a Tidy Towns grant, and each one now has a Tidy Towns Officer. [5] Much of their work in this area is on general litter issues. [6] Through this initiative, Keep Wales Tidy is also able to offer financial assistance to groups who wish to improve their home areas, with grants awarded to cover the cost of tools, equipment, publicity and training. [7]
This project works with children and young people in the school environment. Sustainability issues are a part of the scheme, and 3 awards can be earned - Bronze, Silver, and Green Flag. [8]
Keep Wales Tidy administers 3 different awards related to beaches, namely the Blue Flag Award, the Green Coast Award and the Seaside Award. All 3 categories have the environmental management of the beach as a central factor, be this by the local authority, or by volunteer organisations. The awards are made annually, but may be withdrawn during the season if the criteria are not fulfilled, or if circumstances change. [9] Welsh Water / Dŵr Cymru plays an important role in this work, through its Green Sea Partnership. [10]
The Blue Flag Award, introduced in 1999, is given where strict criteria are met, relating to water quality, cleanliness, management and safety. [11] A total of 41 beaches and 5 marinas were awarded Blue Flags in 2011. [12]
The Green Coast Award (originally known as the Green Seas Initiative) has water quality and environmental criteria, and is awarded to more isolated locations where the infrastructure and facilities are insufficient to be able to achieve full Blue Flag or Seaside (Resort) status. [13] The Green Coast Award is unique in that it recognises Guideline water quality (i.e. the EU designation for water quality). [14] 47 beaches were awarded the Green Coast Award in 2011. [12]
The Seaside Award is given annually to beaches which can attain a minimum standard in water quality, cleanliness, safety and management. Given the variation in types of beaches, two categories of beach are considered - resort and rural. Rural beaches may have little in the way of facilities (an information board must show the nearest facilities), whereas resort beaches will provide such facilities as lifeguards, First Aid points, toilets, car parks and safe access, and access for dogs will be limited. [15] The number of beaches awarded Seaside Awards in 2011 was 104. [12]
Keep Wales Tidy promoted its "I Will for Wales" / "Fe Wnaf dros Gymru" campaign at the National Eisteddfod in Wrexham in 2011. [16]
Gower or the Gower Peninsula is in South West Wales and is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan, Wales. It projects towards the Bristol Channel. In 1956, the majority of Gower became the first area in the United Kingdom to be designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales.
Criccieth, also spelled Cricieth ( ), is a town and community in Gwynedd, Wales, on the boundary between the Llŷn Peninsula and Eifionydd. The town is 5 miles (8 km) west of Porthmadog, 9 miles (14 km) east of Pwllheli and 17 miles (27 km) south of Caernarfon. It had a population of 1,826 in 2001, reducing to 1,753 at the 2011 census.
Fairbourne is a seaside village in Gwynedd, Wales. Located on the coast of Barmouth Bay in Arthog community, to the south of the estuary of the River Mawddach, it is surrounded by Snowdonia National Park. It is in an area that had been listed by Gwynedd Council for managed retreat due to rising sea levels.
Ardmore is a seaside resort and fishing village in County Waterford, Ireland, not far from Youghal on the south coast of Ireland. As of the 2016 census, it had a population of over 430 - though this increases in the tourist season. It is believed to be the oldest Christian settlement in Ireland. According to tradition, Saint Declan lived in the region in the early 5th century, and Christianised the area before the coming of Saint Patrick.
Aberporth is a seaside village, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales. The population at the 2001 Census, was 2,485, of whom 49 per cent could speak the Welsh language. At the 2011 Census, the population of the community was 2,374 and of the village 1241. Aberporth's beaches have earned Blue Flag status.
Keep Britain Tidy is a UK-based independent environmental charity. The organisation campaigns to reduce litter, improve local places and prevent waste. It has offices in Wigan and London.
Newgale is a village with an almost two-mile (3 km) stretch of beach in the parish of Roch, Pembrokeshire, West Wales. The beach is situated in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path and has rugged coastal scenery with the path winding up and down the cliffs.
Woolacombe is a seaside resort on the coast of North Devon, England, which lies at the mouth of a valley in the parish of Mortehoe. The beach is 2 miles (3.2 km) long, sandy, gently sloping and faces the Atlantic Ocean near the western limit of the Bristol Channel.
The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE, which is a not-for-profit non-governmental organisation consisting of 65 organisations in 77 member countries.
Poppit is a small, dispersed settlement which lies on the southern side of the estuary of the River Teifi, near Cardigan, in northern Pembrokeshire, Wales. The beach itself was formed in 1656 when Lady Williams and her faithful knight Beck decided to use the beach as a fishing and leisure location. The Battle of Poppit Sands in 1673 was one by Lady Williams after 3 days of battling with the French. Today, the majority of this history is forgotten. However, a venture into one of Poppit's local walking routes will lead you to a statue of Beck, who died in honour.
Aberavon Beach, also known as Aberavon Sands, is a three-mile (5 km) stretch of sandy beach on the north-eastern edge of Swansea Bay in Port Talbot, Wales. With its high breaker waves, it is popular with surfers. Aberavon Beach was awarded Blue Flag status in December 2007 and features in the Good Beach Guide published by the Marine Conservation Society.
Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful (KNIB), known until 2014 as TIDY Northern Ireland, is a non-profit environmental organisation based in Northern Ireland. In addition to running the "Keep Northern Ireland Tidy" campaign, it supports or provides grants for local environmental programmes such as the 'Beautiful Beach Awards', litter surveys, a 'Marine Litter Report', local gardening projects, an Eco-Schools program, Green Coast Awards, TIDY Business and Borough Cleanliness Survey. The organisation is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland and, as of 2022, had 13 employees.
Penmon is a promontory, village and ecclesiastical parish on the eastern tip of the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, about 3 miles (4.8 km) east of the town of Beaumaris. It is in the community of Llangoed. The name comes from Welsh: pen and Môn, which is the Welsh word for Anglesey. It is the site of a historic monastery and associated 12th-century church. Walls near the well next to the church may be part of the oldest remaining Christian building in Wales. Penmon also has an award-winning beach and the Anglesey Coastal Path follows its shores. Quarries in Penmon have provided stone for many important buildings and structures, including Birmingham Town Hall and the two bridges that cross the Menai Strait. The area is popular with locals and visitors alike for its monuments, tranquillity, bracing air and fine views of Snowdonia to the south across the Menai Strait.
Freshwater East is a village in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The majority of the village is on a cliff overlooking a bay. It is approximately 7 miles (11 km) from Pembroke by road, and 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Lamphey, and is in the parish and community of Lamphey. Freshwater East is the site of a Green Coast Award Beach.
The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, who also administers the scheme in England.
Coldingham Bay is an inlet in the North Sea coast, just over three kilometres north of the town of Eyemouth in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is situated at grid reference NT918666 and is easily reached by a minor road which leaves the B6438 road at Coldingham.
The Sunrise Coast is a stretch of tourist coastline in the English county of Suffolk. The area includes the seaside resort towns of Lowestoft and Southwold and the inland Broads towns of Beccles and Bungay within the Waveney district.
Keep Scotland Beautiful is an environmental charity based in Scotland, which aims “to make Scotland a cleaner, greener and more sustainable place to live, work and visit.” The organisation campaigns and educates on a range of environmental issues including climate change and litter reduction.