Winter Rubbish Walk, Paddle and Swim

The team at ‘Loving our Lake’ are inviting local residents and businesses to join them for a winter rubbish walk, paddle and swim on Sunday 1st December at 2pm, meeting at Surf-lines, Y Glyn, Llanberis. Now the vegetation has died down this is an ideal time to remove rubbish from in and around the lake.

“Our last ‘rubbish walk, paddle and swim’ was held in May and we have had a very busy summer with folk enjoying the lake. It would be great if as many people as possible could join us to litter-pick. Those attending the event can have a free canoe session; the very brave can go for a supported swim in return for rubbish collection,” says Emma Edwards-Jones, project manager for the ‘Loving our Lake’ project.

Surf-Lines, the lakeside outdoor activity business and retailer, is providing the paddle or swim session and there will be staff on hand during the session to help coordinate activities and offer some paddling or swimming tips.

At the end of the afternoon litter-pickers are invited to join the Loving our Lake team at Surf-lines for a free glass of wine, provided by Barefoot Wine, who are supporting the event.  “It looks like the weather is turning colder and I’m sure the adult litter-pickers and swimmers will enjoy a glass of wine; they will have deserved it,” says Emma.

The event is being supported by the North Wales Environmental Charter Group, Surf-Lines, Keep Wales Tidy and Barefoot Wine.

“In the summer we had over 40 litter-pickers who collected a lot of waste including lost wellies and many plastic bottles. We felt that we only scratched the surface and we want to make a real impact this December, so we need everyone’s help. By volunteering for just a couple of hours, we could protect the fantastic natural resource that is Llyn Padarn,” says Phil Nelson, Surf-Lines’ owner.

Llyn Padarn and its habitat are of national importance and are designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The ‘Loving our Lake’ project has been developed and is delivered by Snowdonia-Active, a social enterprise based in Caban, Brynrefail. It is supported by Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water and has the backing of Natural Resources Wales. Loving our Lake asks residents and businesses in the Llanberis valley to switch to an environmentally friendly dishwasher product and look after their septic tanks.

More information is available online at facebook.com/llynpadarn and www.loving-our-lake.org.

“We are asking everyone who loves our lake to join us at Surf-lines on Sunday 1st December at 2pm. If we can remove all waste discarded during the busy summer, we will be ready for a fantastic 2014,” says Emma.