Cardiff residents will be seeing a lot more of Mr Caddy Man over the next few weeks as he helps spreads the message of the changes taking place across the city next month.

The changes to the collection service must happen to encourage more of us to recycle as much as possible and to reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill.  The weekly recycling and food waste service will be introduced from the 12th September; from this date garden waste and general (black bin or black bags) will be collected fortnightly, on alternate weeks.

These changes will help Cardiff become a more sustainable and environmentally friendly city and will help meet the Welsh Government’s recycling targets.

Executive Member for Environment, Cllr Margaret Jones said, “We have produced a full information package that all residents can access to learn all they need to know about these important changes and to cap it all we have Caddy Man and his team out and about giving out information and answering any questions people may have.  If you’re in the Capitol Centre on Monday, come and say hello to Caddy Man and see how you can help make our beautiful city a truly sustainable place to live.”

From Friday, August 5 until Sunday, August 7 a family conservation weekend is planned when visitors to the island can spend two days and two nights exploring the wildlife and history on Flat Holm.

Visitors can become nature explorers and search the island for bugs and butterflies or take part in a seashore safari, and other family-friendly conservation activities. In addition there will be an island treasure hunt, time to discover beach art and lots more.

There are even more facilities on offer on Flat Holm this summer including a new gift shop and pub, set in the Victorian Barracks. The Gull and Leek offers a selection of local beers, ales and wines.

As this is a self-catering weekend, storage and facilities can be provided for all your catering needs, all visitors need to do is bring along their island provisions. So why not make use of our BBQ in the Victorian Walled Garden?

Flat Holm, once a sanctuary for monks, Vikings, Anglo-Saxons, silver miners and smugglers, is now a mix of ruins from bygone eras and modern, sustainable living. Features of the island include wind turbines, solar panels, World War II gun embattlements and an isolation hospital from the 1800s. It’s perhaps most famous for receiving the first ever radio message across water by Marconi in 1897, and has even featured in the BBC TV series Torchwood.

Executive Member for Sport, Culture and Leisure, Cllr Nigel Howells, said: “With the sun shining, Flat Holm is the perfect place to take the family this summer. It’s a great place to have fun and to learn about the environment whilst having a great time.”

The two-day trip costs £50 for adults and £36 per child.

Bookings for Flat Holm are now being taken. For departure times and prices call  029 2087 7904 or 029 2087 7912, email flatholmproject@cardiff.gov.uk, or visit www.flatholmisland.com

The remaining two cases were successfully prosecuted in court.  Jacqueline Kinsella was issued a fixed penalty notice (FPN) for dropping a cigarette end.  She failed to pay the £75 fpn and was successfully prosecuted for littering.   She had to pay a £275 fine.

Roxanne Woodward was also issued a fixed penalty notice for cigarette ending littering on the same smoking litter operation. She failed to pay her FPN and also failed to attend court and was prosecuted in her absence.   She too had to pay £275

Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Housing, Communities and Social Justice said, “All citizens have a duty to dispose of cigarette butts in a responsible manner.  Littering of this nature impacts on our everyday environment and cannot be tolerated.  There are a number of suitable cigarette butt receptacles for people to use in the City Centre and there is really no excuse for tossing any kind of rubbish on the floor.  Cardiff Council works extremely hard to ensure our streets are as clean as possible and the vast majority of people help us in this goal.”

Love Parks Week is a national campaign which supports and celebrates parks and green spaces and aims to encourage people to use their local parks and discover what they have on offer.

In support of the national campaign, Cardiff Council is running a fun and exciting programme of events to appeal to all the family, taking place at a number of the city’s parks.

Many of the events are free and include wildlife trails, art activities and games for children, a bat discovery walk and a heritage walk to learn about the history of one of the largest Victorian cemeteries in Britain.

Executive Member for Sport, Leisure and Culture, Cllr Nigel Howells said: “We are extremely fortunate that Cardiff boasts more than 56 formal parks and gardens across the city, seven of which are proud winners of the prestigious Green Flag Award.

“They are free resources that are vital in promoting healthy, active and happy communities.

“Our green spaces are beautiful and I encourage people to support Love Parks Week and learn what your local park has to offer.”

Love Parks Week is organised by parks charity GreenSpace. Founded in 2006, the campaign has grown steadily and is now established as a major event that is celebrated in parks across the country. Each year hundreds of events take place enabling thousands of people to get out and enjoy their parks and help put forward the case for reinvestment.

For more information about Love Parks Week please visit www.loveparksweek.org.uk and to learn more about events in Cardiff parks please visit www.cardiff.gov.uk/parks

Following its success last year the Active StreetGames team will be providing a five week programme of summer camps in parks across the city.

The initiative provides a range of supervised activities for children aged seven to 11 at just £2 per child for each session.

StreetGames is a national youth charity which aims to introduce doorstep sport to communities across the city.

Doorstep sport aspires to tailoring sports sessions to suit the specific demands of young people and the community in which they are run.

The sessions are supported by members of the Co-operative StreetGames Young Volunteers Programme, a scheme that helps 16-25 year olds from the local area gain sports qualifications and community leadership skills whilst volunteering at the project.

Activities on offer include dodge ball, tag games, mini athletics, Ultimate Frisbee, cricket, basketball to name a few.

The programme aims to encourage young people to get active by trying new activities and having fun playing sport and games with their friends. Activities are normally chosen by the children, with consideration to age, ability and location.

In previous years the programme has been extremely popular, on average attracting between 30 and 50 children per session.

Executive Member for Sport, Leisure and Culture, Cllr Nigel Howells said: “This initiative is in its fifth year and provides a fantastic outdoor sports provision for children throughout the city.

“It also brings the fantastic activities provided by our leisure centres to the wider community, and encourages young people to visit these facilities and take up sport and leisure on a permanent basis.”

John Barrowman adopted by Cardiff Dogs Home

Cardiff Dogs Home is looking for volunteers to form a ‘Friends of Cardiff Dogs Home’ group to bring together people who share a passion for improving dog welfare.

The Dogs Home is holding its first meeting on Thursday 14 July 2011 at 7pm in Committee Room 3 at County Hall. Anyone who feels they would like to get involved and become a ‘friend’ of the Dogs Home, is welcome to attend.

Members of the new group will support the Dogs Home in improving the visitor experience for those looking to re-home a dog from Cardiff Dogs Home.  They will also promote responsible dog ownership and highlight the work done by the Dogs Home which aims to find the best possible home for each dog in its care.

There are currently 40 dogs living at the Dogs Home, and one of the priorities for this year is raising money to fund a project to modernise the kennels which have been in place since the Home was built nearly 20 years ago.  The ‘Friends of Cardiff Dogs Home’ will help fundraise and support this initiative. Other key priorities for the group will include promoting responsible dog ownership at community events and distributing information about re-homing and micro-chipping dogs.

Cllr Margaret Jones, Executive Member for the Environment said: “The Cardiff Dogs Home looks after more than 1200 dogs a year, and is really committed to caring for all of the dogs in its care. I would urge anyone who has an interest in the welfare of the stray dogs of Cardiff and the work that goes into finding them new homes to attend the meeting and think about joining the ‘Friends of Cardiff Dogs Home’ group. There are many ways to support Cardiff Dogs’ Home. Whether you are able to volunteer your time or make donations, no matter what you do, it all helps.”

If you are unable to attend the meeting on July 14 and would like to be involved or require further information then please contact Sarah Brown on 2087 1146 sbrown@cardiff.gov.uk or the Dogs Home on 2071 1243.

The scam letter mentions investments of supposedly deceased individuals that can be accessed by namesakes in the UK.  It is completely bogus and people should not communicate in any way with the people sending these letters.

Deputy Leader of Cardiff Council and Executive Member for Housing, Communities and Social Justice, Cllr Judith Woodman said, “This is a particularly nasty scam that appears to target older people and refers to allegedly deceased people.  People should have nothing whatsoever to do with these letters and throw them away immediately.”

The re-launch marks the end of a long period of decline for the pump and residents and visitors will now be able to watch the pump in action once more.

Cardiff Council and Cadw have jointly funded the restoration of this nationally protected scheduled ancient monument, which has the support of local community group ‘Friends of Melingriffith Water Pump.’

The 200 year old pump stands as a reminder of the former Glamorganshire Canal and Melingriffith Tin Plate Works, one of the earliest and most important works of its kind. For 135 years this pump ensured there was a continuous water supply for the canal. When this part of the canal closed in the 1940’s the pump became redundant and has remained idle ever since.

Executive Member for Sport, Leisure and Culture, Cllr Nigel Howells said, “I’m delighted that this historic monument has been restored and is now back in action.  This has been an excellent example of partnership working with Cadw and the Friends of Melingriffith Pump.  It can now stand proud as a wonderful link to our industrial heritage for generations to learn about and enjoy.”

Executive Member for Environment, Cllr Margaret Jones said, “I’m very pleased that this important Cardiff landmark has been restored to its former glory.  It has been a great effort by Cardiff Council, Cadw and the Friends of Melingriffith Water Pump and a testament to partnership working.  I’m sure residents and visitors alike will enjoy this historic monument for years to come.”

A new pathway at Parc Cefn Onn has been officially opened to the public.

Executive Member for Sport, Leisure and Culture, Cllr Nigel Howells was joined by the Friends of Parc Cefn Onn to reopen the pathway.

The project has improved access along the main footpath in the park, which was highlighted as needing attention. Following a survey, the poor footpath was one of the biggest issues for park users.

The new improvements allow better access for wheelchair users and pushchairs to certain areas of the park such as the goldfish pond in the upper section of the park.

The work has been achieved after the Friends of Parc Cefn Onn and Cardiff Council secured a £134,900 grant from the Landfill Community Fund, through Resource Efficiency Wales.

The successful works were carried out by the Council’s landscape design team and contractor Griff Davies, and were completed in April this year. Further improvements are planned for the site as part of a long term restoration programme, developed in partnership with the Friends of Parc Cefn Onn.

The Friends group was set up in 2010 with the aim to help improve the environment and facilities of the park.

The group are pro-active and hold monthly work sessions under the guidance of Community Park Ranger, Alec Stewart.

Executive Member for Sport, Leisure and Culture, Cllr Nigel Howells said: “I am delighted that work has been completed on the pathway in order to improve access to the wonderful park.

“Park Cefn Onn is a valuable and much loved asset to the city and this is shown through the passion and dedication of the friends group who work alongside park staff to ensure the environmental, botanical, and historical features of the park are maintained and restored.

“The new pathway will mean that more people can safely and conveniently visit the park and enjoy all that it has on offer.”

Chairman of Friends of Cefn Onn, Gareth Thomas, said: “The new path is a great asset to the park and all of the Council and contractor staff involved in the planning, design, and construction of it deserve congratulations for the excellent work they have done.

“We have had lots of extremely positive comments from a wide selection of park visitors that it has really opened up the park and helped make it a beautiful place to visit.”

Parc Cefn Onn is a country park on the northern fringes of Cardiff. It contains a magnificent collection of native and exotic trees set within an intimate valley. Visitors enjoy the stunning scenery and the calm, relaxing atmosphere.

The streams, ponds, woodlands and other planting make this a rich haven for wildlife. Visitors regularly return to enjoy the park in different seasons. Train access, bike & car parking, toilets and a network of paths are provided.

The Friends of Parc Cefn Onn are looking for members of the community to join and support them with future projects. For further information, news, and photos of the development of the new path please visit the website at www.friendsofcefnonn.org.uk