Up to 70 volunteers cleared more than 30 bin bags of rubbish and planted hundreds of plants during a day of clearing, pruning, planting and weeding around Marine Lake, Rhyl, on November 17, in readiness for the Wales in Bloom competition 2010.
The weather started well for the Barclays Marine Lake Environmental Day although by the afternoon the heavens opened – but still the volunteers carried on until they had cleared the site of litter and planted more than 300 new plants. Unfortunately the weather got so bad that the teams had to postpone planting 2,000 daffodil bulbs until a later date. Everyone was extremely grateful to the Rhyl Steam Preservation Trust who opened up the railway building and provided teas, coffee’s and shelter from the rain!
Tidy Towns assisted by providing litter pickers and bags. Countryside Services built and installed bird and bat boxes on site and took volunteers over to the island via the lifeguard’s boat and the Community Payback team did a fantastic job litter picking and digging.
The majority of the volunteers came from Barclays Bank, which donated £2,000 to the project, and there were also volunteers from other groups including Rhyl Environmental Association, The Dewi Sant Centre, Community Payback Team, Rhyl Town Council and Denbighshire Countryside Services. The Rhyl Wales in Bloom Committee, Marine Lake Users Forum and other organisations were also involved in organising the day.
Bill Lockitt, chairman of the Rhyl Environmental Association said: “Barclays Marine Lake Environmental Day was an excellent example of partnership working and just shows what can be achieved in a short time with focused funding. It would be excellent to see this repeated in other areas of Rhyl to support 2010 Rhyl Wales in Bloom.
Ian Olson, Denbighshire’s coastal facilities officer, added: “Despite the weather, it was an excellent day and we would like to thank Barclays Bank for the funding and all the volunteers who gave their time and worked so hard in difficult conditions to help clear up the area around the lake ready for next year’s Wales in Bloom competition.”
