Big Dee Day launched today

Flintshire County Council leader Aaron Shotton launched this year’s Big Dee Day this morning in an event which brings volunteers and businesses together to regenerate the Dee. 

The annual clean-up, coordinated by Flintshire Council, Cheshire West and Chester Council and Natural Resources Wales is back for its 9th year!

Great launch for this years #BigDeeDay with @FlintshireCC @sustrans Volunteers ready & waiting to clear local routes pic.twitter.com/pqNx1r8LrK

— Sustrans Cymru (@SustransCymru) September 18, 2015

For two days, across North Wales and Cheshire, volunteers, conservation groups and businesses will join forces with council services and Natural Resources Wales.

Everyone involved will be working hard to clear the river and marine litter that washes up along the River Dee, and paint and spruce up the special places along its banks and coast, from the Welsh mountains to the coastal habitat of the Dee estuary.

#BigDeeDay is here & the path’s coming along nicely!Looking fwd to seeing volunteers later at Greyhound retail park! pic.twitter.com/qgNId5LcQw

— Env Agency NW (@EnvAgencyNW) September 18, 2015

Last year hundreds of people took part and hundreds of bags of litter were collected.

In Flintshire, the efforts are coordinated by the Council’s Coastal Rangers and Streetscene service.

Rangers take the opportunity to work with community groups to plant trees, bulbs and help restore wetland habitat along the county’s coastline with community volunteers.

The event is supported by many community groups and numerous businesses including Airbus, Kingspan, ENI, and many more. This year, Tesco is the latest company to get on board with 80 staff members volunteering their services for the clean-up.

Councillor Bernie Attridge, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, said:

“Flintshire Council is very proud to be hosting this year’s Big Dee Day. The event has got bigger every year since it was first established by the Council’s Countryside Service in 2007 with more and more people, community groups and businesses getting involved.

“It really is fantastic to see so many wanting to help look after and protect our local environment. The volunteers play a huge part in helping to ensure our coastline is kept clean for both visitors and wildlife. There’s still time to get involved if you would like to come along and join in.”

Senior Ranger at Flintshire County Council Mike Taylor said:

“We’re so grateful to everyone who has supported The Big Dee Day over the last nine years and made it such a success. It’s grown into a major cross border event covering miles of coastline from Talacre to Chester and Llangollen. There’s a real sense of community pride, with volunteers not only working to clean-up the river but also planting trees and bulbs and painting to enhance the environment along the banks.”

Main Image of Flintshire County Council leader addressing volunteers and dignitaries this morning: picture by Carl Sargeant ‏@carlsargeant1