The prestigious 21st annual Tidy Wales Awards were held recently in the Pierhead Building, Cardiff Bay. The Awards recognises community groups, schools and voluntary organisations from across Wales that have made real and lasting efforts to restore their local environments to their former glory. Many of the sites tackled will have suffered many years of neglect and without the efforts of the award recipients, they would have remained blights on the landscape.
The Awards are organised by Keep Wales Tidy and sponsored by the Environment Agency Wales. This year, nine category winners each receive a cash prize of £250 and then battled it out for the glory of being crowned overall winners and an additional prize of £250. All shorlisted groups also received a cash prize of £50.
The awards were presented by Environment and Sustainable Development Minister, John Griffiths AM, "I am delighted to present this year’s awards. The Welsh Government is committed to supporting initiatives that improve our environment. All the shortlisted groups should be proud of their achievements and I encourage other groups to follow their lead."
Lesley Jones, Chief Executive of Keep Wales Tidy commented, "We are so pleased that we are able to recognise our volunteers’ tireless and important work. The event allows us to highlight a wide variety of achievements and contributions from all over Wales. Our thanks also to all the organisations that sponsor the event as it couldn’t happen without their support."
Chris Mills, Director of Environment Agency Wales said, "Each of the shortlisted entries have demonstrated a commitment to their local environment, and we congratulate them for the great work they are doing. Their tireless efforts are helping to make the environment we live in a better, safer place for us all to enjoy and at the same time helping to contribute to local economies and our state of wellbeing."