Pupils at St. Francis Catholic Primary School in Milford Haven attended a litter picking event last Thursday on Milford Waterfront to support Keep Wales Tidy in two ongoing national campaigns.
Over the past few months, Keep Wales Tidy’s dog fouling campaign has seen bright pink pawprints leading to bins across the country. The school wanted to help highlight this issue by using stencils and chalk spray paint in targeted areas along the Milford Waterfront parkrun course, which has seen an increase in dog fouling over the past few years.
Bins have been placed along the route and dog walkers are urged to use them or take their dog mess home with them. The route has become very popular over the past two years due to the introduction of the weekly 5km parkrun event, however issues with dog fouling are becoming a concern, with parkrun volunteers having to clean up the course every Saturday morning.
Milford Waterfront parkrun Event Director, Karen Lewis said:
“Our parkrun event is extremely popular and we’re seeing a growing number of tourists from all over the world attend every week including more and more young children. It’s a shame our course is remote enough for irresponsible dog owners to feel they can let their dogs roam free. We’re making a stance by supporting Keep Wales Tidy in tackling this issue and to ask people to clean up after their dog. As well as the health risks associated with dog mess, we don’t want to have to clean up dog mess every week”.
Keep Wales Tidy launched the Dog Fouling campaign last year and more details can be found on their website: keepwalestidy.cymru
The school pupils also conducted a general litter pick around the marina and in less than two hours collected a total of 6 bags weighing more than 10kg.
Mrs Roberts the School Headteacher commented:
“We were delighted to be invited by the staff of Keep Wales Tidy to take part in the efforts to improve our local area. Our Eco-Club members are very aware of the responsibility they have to protect and nurture our environment and are keen to take part in any activity that helps to support that. They were particularly proud to be considered custodians of Milford Haven and would welcome further opportunities to develop this role”.
Unfortunately, two other the local schools, Gellyswick VC Primary and Milford Haven Community Primary School had to pull out of the event last Thursday due to staff shortages as a result of Covid. It is hoped these schools will be able take part in similar litter picking events during the course of the year.
Keep Wales Tidy launched the Litter Free Zone campaign in January and is reaching out to businesses to adopt specific zones to clean-up on a regular basis. It’s hoped businesses of all shapes and sizes will get involved, from village shops and private offices to supermarkets and industrial estates.
Businesses in Milford Haven which have already signed up to the scheme include the Torch Theatre, The White Butterfly Café and Connie & Jo. Staff will be asked to volunteer a little of their time each month to keeping the areas around their businesses clean or adopting a specific area nearby.
Businesses can either use their nearest Keep Wales Tidy Litter Picking Hub to borrow kit or buy their own equipment at a discounted rate from Helping Hand Environmental who are supporting the scheme. Schools and Businesses wishing to sign up to the Litter Free Zone campaign are asked to register on the website: https://keepwalestidy.cymru/caru- cymru/litter-free-zones/
Caru Cymru has received funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.