TGSP Partners up with Telford & Wrekin Council for 'Clean for the Queen'

The TGSP and TWC are in the process of contacting businesses, schools, community groups and others across the Borough to gain support for the Clean for the Queen event being run nationally by Country Life Magazine and the Keep Britain Tidy Group.  Please see the following open letter for further detail and how we would like people across Telford & Wrekin to help us make this a truly Borough-wide event:

We are excited to be writing to you regarding Telford & Wrekin's Borough-wide support for, "Clean for the Queen" - a nationwide campaign over the weekend of March 4th, 5th & 6th to mobilise 1 million people to clear up Britain in time to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's 90th Birthday this year.

The Telford Green Spaces Partnership and Telford & Wrekin Council are joining forces to take part in this celebration to help clean our nation and we're currently inviting businesses, schools, Councillors, 'Friends of' groups and community groups to support the biggest ever clean-up of the country. Companies in Telford who have already promised support include McDonalds, Tesco, Costa Coffee Shops and Asda and we have plenty more we are starting to approach to make this a truly Borough-wide event.

You may have already seen information about this initiative in the media and you might already be planning an activity and if so we would love you to join forces with our Borough-wide event. If you haven't planned an event/activity yet then we would like to invite you to participate.

The aim is for businesses, schools, community groups and others to nominate the area in Telford & Wrekin they will be responsible for during the celebratory weekend then register their event at http://www.cleanforthequeen.co.uk/home/2365#about. Once registered the organisers will update us on events scheduled across the Borough. In addition with this being a national campaign we anticipate a number of individuals will also come forward who are not currently a part of any group and therefore your registration will help us to great to direct them to any 'Friends of' group(s) operating an event in their area so they can easily join in. 

Plus (although not mandatory) for every person that also signs up to Telford & Wrekin's Street Champion Scheme they will receive free of charge: a high-vis vest; pair of gloves; litter picker; hoop and black bags for the waste - Please email Tina for details of the Street Champions Scheme (pride.officer@telford.gov.uk).

Following your event we have a small budget available to pick up sacks of collected rubbish - all that we ask for is that you take as many photos of activities and collected rubbish as possible and if you have access then post these to Facebook and Twitter.

Clean for The Queen is a campaign led by Country Life, supported by Keep Britain Tidy and Garfield Weston Foundation. Together we aim to inspire people to take action and enjoy a few hours together litter-picking to make the places where we live more beautiful. For Her and for us all we want to attack the blight of litter and as such  all UK litter charities have come together in support of this campaign together with a growing range of companies, land managers and associations. For further information about the nationwide campaign please go to http://www.cleanforthequeen.co.uk/home/2365#about

Join us! Let's Clean for the Queen.

  

Tina Brasenell                                     Craig Baker

Environmental Engagement Officer     Chair, Telford Green Spaces Partnership

Facebook: Pride in Your Community   Facebook: Telford Green-Spaces

Email: pride.officer@telford.gov.uk     www.tgsp.org.uk / Twitter @tgsp2 /  
                                                         Email: ChairTGSP@gmail.com

Congratulations Telford Town Park - Recipient of Fields in Trust UK's Best Park

© 2015 Telford Town Park

Brilliant news last week regarding Telford Town Park and well done to all TWC staff and Friends of  Telford Town Park Volunteers who have worked hard to make the park the usable space it is today for a plethora of users, visitors and wildlife.

Taken from the Fields in Trust website (http://www.fieldsintrust.org):

"[By] a public vote, "UK's Best Park as Voted by You!" saw Telford Town Park, Shropshire top the poll of 122 nominated parks, playing fields and recreation grounds across the UK"

Well done from all at the Telford Green Spaces Partnership.

If you've not seen the brilliant work carried out within Telford Town Park - here's a link to the Friends of TTP website: http://www.friendsoftelfordtownpark.org/its-official-our-park-is-the-best-in-uk/

One of the partnerships the TGSP are actively involved in are efforts to help clean up Telford's numerous watercourses. This cutting from the Shropshire Star shows volunteers from across the Partnership alongside members of the Environment Agency and Shropshire Wildlife Trust getting to work on habitat surveys and freshwater invertebrate counts at Muxton Marsh.

The Love Your River - Telford volunteer group go out once a month to carry out surveys on water courses around the Borough. If you are interested in joining us, usually on the last Monday of the month then please email chairtgsp@gmail.com for details of upcoming activities.

For more information on the project please see this entry on the Environment Agency's website: https://environmentagency.blog.gov.uk/2015/01/06/love-your-river-an-urban-approach/

TGSP Proud to be Supporting 'Clean for the Queen'

In association with Telford & Wrekin Council and TWC's Street Champions Team the TGSP are proud to be supporting this national event on the 4th, 5th & 6th March 2016 organised by the Keep Britain Tidy Group and Country Life Magazine. 

Across the Borough of Telford & Wrekin we are encouraging all organisations to become involved in any way possible.  You don't have to be a conservation volunteer and you might for instance be a school, a business, a Guide or Scout group or an individual who wants to support this Borough-wide initiative to both highlight the issues faced with litter and to help combat the problem.  Our TGSP's Chair and TWC's Environmental Engagement Officer are currently working on communications to organisations across Telford and hope that as a result you will be as excited as they are to be included in supporting this event to help celebrate Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday.

Telford has a vast mix of public open green spaces and water bodies for people to enjoy but with diminishing local government budgets the scope for councils across the country to tackle discarded rubbish is decreasing but still litter is dropped on too regular a basis. 

Further details on Telford's input for 'Clean for the Queen' will be released in the coming weeks. 

NEW VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES WITH TGSP

Concerned about the future of Telford's green spaces?

Organised?

Good with figures?

Available on the second Monday of each Month?

The Telford Green Spaces Partnership (TGSP) is the umbrella organisation representing almost 20 conservation-based volunteer groups and 'Friends of' groups across the Borough of Telford & Wrekin. We also work in partnership with other organisations such as Shropshire Wildlife Trust, Telford & Wrekin Council and Severn Gorge Countryside Trust.

TGSP has delivered lots of fantastic work already from putting on events to training volunteers in practical skills and working with young people to gain work experience. The group is also working to influence the council’s local plans for future development in the area to safe guard our green spaces.

The future holds many challenges for Telford’s green spaces. Together we can make a difference but we need your help. Would you like to be a part of keeping Telford’s green spaces special for all of the community to enjoy?

TGSP is now seeking to appoint individuals to the roles of:

·      Partnership Secretary

·      Partnership Treasurer

See below for the role descriptionn for each  post. Ideally, you will have some (not loads) of experience with e-mail, Microsoft Word & Microsoft Excel but if not training can be provided.

If you would like to be considered for either of these voluntary positions please contact Craig Baker, Chair, Telford Green Spaces Partnership with a brief outline of your experiences by e-mailing chairtgsp@gmail.com

Closing date for applications: Friday 9th January, 2015 (midday).

Website: www.tgsp.org and Twitter with us @TGSP2

ROLE DESCRIPTIONS FOR VOLUNTEER SECRETARY AND TREASURER

INTRODUCTION:

The Telford Green Spaces Partnership (TGSP) continues to go from strength to strength as the premier conservation partnership in Shropshire providing regular opportunities to make positive contributions in improving Telford's green infrastructure through:

·       Shared-learning from around 20 unique conservation-based organisations who meet at least 6 times per year,

·       Practical training in both conservation skills and working as successful environmental groups and individuals,

·       Numerous opportunities to become involved in vibrant discussion forums, such as planning, Telford's Shaping Places Consultation, etc.

Does this sound like you? Or perhaps your strength is not in practical conservation tasks such as hedge-laying and coppicing but you still care about our local environment and might have something else you can offer?

ROLE SPECIFICATION: Volunteer TGSP Secretary

In the role of TGSP Secretary we don't want the minute taking element to be too onerous. Although it is extremely important the post holder can take some minutes we are not expecting these to be verbatim and are happy that only salient points and action points are recorded and distributed.  The post-holder may even have access to a laptop that they can bring along to meetings to minimise duplication.

Hopefully this is all sounding good so far?  If so TGSP also want the role of Secretary to help guide and shape the TGSP through managing recommended enhancements to the TGSP constitution and seeking out both new partners and raising the profile of the partnership with our local communities.

PERSON SPECIFICATION: Volunteer TGSP Secretary

Desirable Experiences

- Working with Microsoft Office, especially Word

- Writing or updating policies

- Some experience of social networking sites (or a willingness to learn how)

ROLE SPECIFICATION: Volunteer TGSP Treasurer

You can probably tell from the Introduction that the role of TGSP Treasurer isn't like any other Treasurer role. 

Although it is extremely important that the post holder can help ensure TGSP have appropriate financial systems and controls in place, we want the Treasurer's talents to expand into the remit of identifying and applying for funding and managing TGSP's fundraising strategy. In line with this desire the Treasurer will help TGSP and its members use the funding wisely.  There is funding out there and we would like you to potentially help us get our hands on it and use it.  Does this sound interesting to you? Then please read on...

PERSON SPECIFICATION: Volunteer TGSP Treasurer

Desirable Experiences

- Working with funding bodies (or willing to learn!)

- Identifying funding streams

- Simple book-keeping/accounting (even if this is managing your personal accounts)

ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL TELFORD SANTA RUN

The eighth Santa Fun Run organised by the Friends of Telford Town Park took place on Sunday 7 December in the Town Park raising money for the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and Guide Dogs UK.

The 2014 event attracted 166 runners, joggers and walkers on the day all festively dressed as Father Christmas. 105 people completed the 5k course and 61 the 2k. There were even some dogs dressed up for the occasion! The Friends once again linked up with the volunteers from Park Run Telford, who marshalled a 5km route adding to the existing 2km route and for the first time both routes included the newly created Southwater Lake.

The run got underway at 11am outside the Park’s Visitor Centre following a warm up with local aerobics instructor, Jo Burt. The Mayor and Mayoress of the Borough of Telford and Wrekin, Cllr Malcolm Smith and Mrs Christine Smith presented everyone with medals as they returned to the Visitor Centre and hot fruit punch and warm mince pies were enjoyed by everyone who took part.

The raffle was drawn once everyone had returned with prizes from the various businesses and restaurants in the Park and around Southwater Lake. Our thanks go to The Cycle Centre, The Wrekin Giant, Costa Coffee, Nando’s, Telford Ice Rink, Cineworld and the Town Park for their generous donation of prizes.

 The Friends would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the volunteers from the Friends and Telford Park Run, Jo Burt, DJ Karl  Bithell, the Mayor and Mayoress  and the Town Park Rangers who helped us to deliver such a wonderful event and of course all of the people who took part raising much needed funds for both the RNIB and Guide Dogs UK.

Sponsor Money

Many people brought their sponsor money to the event yesterday raising almost £1000. We would like to beat the total raised last year of £2,000 and would ask people to continue raising funds after the event and sending money raised into us.

You can pay in your sponsor money through Paypal by specifying the destination for your payment as fottp12@gmail.co. Or if you send an email to fottp12@gmail.com stating the exact amount of the sponsorship money, we will issue a Paypal invoice.

 Alternatively you can take your cash or cheque made payable to ‘FOTTP Santa Fun Run’ in a sealed envelope clearly labelled SANTA FUN RUN  to the Park Visitor Centre 

Further pictures of the runners can be found here

Park Run is a 5km timed run in Telford Town which starts at 9am on Saturday mornings. For further details visit www.parkrun.org.uk/telford.

MADELEY COMMUNITY ORCHARD NEWS

                         

Madeley Community Orchard
News 

Welcome to the first of what we intend will be regular updates from Madeley Community Orchard. We hope that you will pass this information on to anybody else who may be interested, or if you would prefer not to receive the information please return the email and we will take your details off the distribution list.

£2,000 to Renovate the Pond

The good news is that there has been a successful application to the Postcode Lottery which has resulted in funding to renovate the pond. The pond is slowly turning into a bog garden and to reverse this process it needs to be relined. We hope that Green Gym will be able to clear out the pond and temporarily remove the top boards from the Broad Walk to give access. Once the work has been completed then the Broad Walk will be reinstated. The actual relining of the pond will be undertaken by ORA Groundcare, who are a local firm, based in Madeley. The work should all be completed by April 2014, when the pond will need restocking, so if anybody has some native pond plants to spare we can find a home for them at the Orchard.

Green Gym

A big thank you to Green Gym who have done fantastic work at the orchard, turning up every other Tuesday whatever the weather! Without their help it would have been very difficult for the volunteers to keep up with the day to day maintenance, let alone the hard graft. The Green Gym volunteers have been invaluable

Mowing

Another big thank you is for Laurence from ORA Groundcare. Who has offered to do the mowing this year free of charge! This is a very generous offer and much appreciated by the volunteers. The money that had been set aside for mowing can now be used for other purposes to be decided.

Allotments

Parts of the orchard have been set aside for small allotment plots for gardeners who live in Madeley, Woodside or Cuckoo Oak. Anybody who is interested should contact info@madeleytowncouncil.gov.uk who will put you in touch with Pam Marshall, the Chair. Currently the plots are available free of charge provided that only environmentally friendly gardening techniques are used.

Volunteering and Events

The volunteer days will restart on Tuesday 4^th February 2014 between 10.00 and 12.00. Anybody who would like to join the small band of volunteers will be very welcome. Jobs for next year will include planting up the potager, replanting the pond, planting potatoes and general TLC.

Diary dates - The first event will be Apple Blossom Day on 6^th April. Details of time and activities will follow. There will be a summer picnic on 13^th July and the Harvest Festival with the Church in September/October.

A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR from all at Madeley Community Orchard