Give as you live this autumn
The nights are rapidly drawing in and the thought of leaving the house to go shopping might be a grim prospect so why not buy your essentials from the comfort of your home? Keep Wales Tidy has signed up to new scheme Give as You Live which allows online shoppers to help our charity – at no additional cost.
As part of the scheme, thousands of retailers including Tesco, Boots, Marks and Spencer and lastminute.com donate a percentage (some up to ten percent) to the customer’s chosen cause and we hope that shoppers will help us raise much needed funds. By simply signing up, every pound spent online can go towards making Wales a better place to live.
You can also help us simply by browsing the internet. By using everyclick.com as a default search engine, supporters can raise money for Keep Wales Tidy every time they search the internet.
We have also set up a new, free collection and recycling scheme for companies, schools and colleges to safely dispose of redundant IT equipment. The charity will receive a share of any profit made from the recycling, so as well as raising funds for a local Welsh charity, the scheme supports local employment whilst also diverting waste from landfill.
A new school term
New shoes and pencil cases at the ready, Wales's schoolchildren are ready to continue protecting our environment.
Top marks go to Llanfyllin High School who is the 700th school in Wales to receive the prestigious Eco-Schools Green Flag. Flags are given only to schools who perform outstandingly in assessments carried out by our officers. The flag is awarded to schools who have performed well in this international programme which encourages young people to engage with environmental and sustainable development issues. Flags are only given to schools who are deemed outstanding by Eco-Schools assessors so well done to all involved.
If your school hasn't already signed up to Eco-Schools Wales, get involved!
Winning writers
For the second year running two secondary schools in Wales have won two international awards in the Young Reporters for the Environment programme. 
As part of the programme which runs in 23 countries worldwide, secondary school pupils are invited to investigate a local environmental issue, produce a journalistic report or photograph and then report on their findings.
This year's winners were rewarded for their work by John Griffiths, the Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development, at the Royal Welsh Show in July.
If you'd like to follow in the footsteps of this year's winning writers, enter the competition for 2011–12. Email yre@keepwalestidy.org for more information. And if you're after inspiration, read this year's winning entries.