Cardiff Rivers Group braves cold weather in Bute Park

Volunteers from Cardiff Rivers Group showed their commitment to improving the city’s environment on Sunday as they braved the cold weather to carry out their first event of 2012.

Following the winter floods, the riverbanks through Bute Park had become festooned with rubbish that has washed downstream, and so become a real eyesore in this beautiful city centre park. With the permission and support of Cardiff County Council’s Parks Department, the team selected this stretch of river for their first project of the year. 

28 volunteers gave up their Sunday morning to tackle the problem, and together the team collected 40 bags of rubbish, a bike, trolley, roadside barriers, football and a Barbie doll! All rubbish was disposed of by Cardiff County Council’s Parks Department. 

Louise Tambini, of Cardiff Rivers Group said, “It was great to see so many volunteers turn up today. They worked really hard, in freezing conditions, to remove lots of waste from the riverbanks.

“What was lovely to see was the amount of praise, thanks and support we received from passers-by. Over 25 people stopped to have a chat and thank us for our efforts, and six people even signed up to join our group! It’s really encouraging to see that so many park users are grateful for our hard work, and when they take the time to thank us, it provides a great boost to all the volunteers” she added.

Cardiff Rivers Group formed in 2009 as part of the ‘Tidy Towns’ project: a partnership between Keep Wales Tidy and Welsh local authorities. Funded by the Welsh Government it supports the people of Wales to improve the quality of their local environment.

Cardiff Rivers Group is always looking for new volunteers, so if you would like to lend a hand, please contact Louise Tambini on 07824 504790 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .