Tidy campaign urges residents to join in
ONE of Wales’ leading environmental charities has issued a recruitment appeal to join one of the country’s biggest clean-up campaigns.
“Be involved, be proud and be tidy” is the rallying cry from Keep Wales Tidy.
The Be Tidy campaign takes place across Wales throughout September and gives people of all ages the opportunity to volunteer and get together to help spruce up their local community.
Litter remains a persistent problem for many communities and Be Tidy is a reminder that everyone can do their bit to make a positive change.
Keep Wales Tidy chief executive Lesley Jones said: “We know a good quality environment matters to people and the benefits can have a big impact on our communities, health and well-being and economy.
“At Keep Wales Tidy, we have a simple and clear message: let’s work together to help look after our local environment. Be Tidy is all about giving everyone the chance to get involved in our work – whether you’re a seasoned volunteer or whether this is the first time you’ve taken part in a clean-up activity. Just two hours spent picking up litter can make a huge difference.”
Nick Brown, head of sustainability at Coca-Cola European Partners Great Britain, which is supporting the campaign, said: “Be Tidy is a fantastic opportunity to encourage the local community to work together to care for the local environment.
“We would love to see as many people as possible joining in to make Be Tidy a huge success in 2017.”
A campaign spokeswoman encouraged people to sign up.
“Getting involved is easy and fun,” she said. “People are encouraged to register their own clean-ups on the Keep Wales Tidy website, where they can also download free resources to help them plan and promote their event.
“Community groups, businesses and other organisations have already signed up. For anyone not able to organise their own clean-up, details of public events can also be found on the Keep Wales Tidy website.
“Clean-ups of different types and sizes are taking place in every corner of the country – from beach cleans in Ceredigion to fly-tipping clearances in Merthyr Tydfil.
“Volunteer groups and businesses have already signed up in Cardiff, with activity taking place in communities across the city.”
To get involved in Be Tidy and register your own clean-up, visit www. keepwalestidy.cymru/betidy Tiny backpacks are being developed for bees by scientists at Bangor University to help them track and study the insects’ behaviour.
The lightweight devices will be powered by the bee’s own electrical energy and allow a small drone to follow their journey from plant to plant.
Many bee species have been under significant pressure, with their numbers declining over the past 100 years. Experts hope the study will help shed light on where the buzzing insects collect nectar and what might be causing their population to fall.
Paul Cross, senior lecturer at Bangor University’s School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, said: “Bee populations, our vital crop and fruit pollinators, are in serious decline; their survival faces challenges on several fronts, insecticides and varroa mites, to name a few.
“The ability to track bees or other insects over their entire foraging range will be useful in various circumstances. This new device really is akin to a bee wearing a rucksack, as opposed to carrying the equivalent of the kitchen table and chairs as at present.”
Until now bees have been very difficult to track because they are so small, fast in the air and have erratic flying patterns.
Microsystems expert at the university’s School of Electronic Engineering, Dr Cristiano Palego, explains further: “Existing bee monitoring devices face limits due to their weight, range, and how long their power source lasts – and these are the problems that we’ve set out to resolve using micro-technology.
“We have proven our ability to harvest the bee’s electrical energy to enable us to do away with the need for a battery and our end product will weigh only a third of the bee’s body weight, or less than a raindrop.”