Volunteers needed for final Rivercare of 2011
The final and most ambitious Rivercare event of 2011 takes place
this weekend and the Mayor of Bedford Borough, Dave Hodgson, is
hoping for a record turnout of volunteers to attend.
The ‘Green and Arty River Clean Up’, organised by the Pride in
Bedford team at Bedford Borough Council, takes place on
Saturday 24th September and will concentrate on
the area near Aspects and Longholme Way. In addition to the usual
litter pick, a mural will also be painted in the underpass which
links Aspects to the embankment. The railings will also be
repainted.
Mayor of Bedford Borough, Dave Hodgson, who will be pitching in,
said: “The majority of people in Bedford Borough are rightly proud
of our river and this is proven in the number of volunteers our
Rivercare events regularly attract.
“However, our final event of 2011 is particularly ambitious as
in addition to litter picking and clearing the river and embankment
we are also brightening up the well used underpass by adding a
mural and repainting the railings.
“Projects such as Rivercare encourage local residents to look
after and improve our open spaces and are a major part of the
reason why Bedford won the overall award at Anglia in Bloom just
last week.
“This is also a great day for the whole family and I hope as
many people as possible can come along and pitch in however they
can.”
The mural will be designed by local illustrator, Scarlett
Tierney who has donated her time to help volunteers create the
mural. Volunteers will also be able to plant whips (which are small
trees) along Longholme Way.
The event runs from 10am – 2pm, all equipment will be provided
by Pride in Bedford and volunteers are asked to wear suitable
clothing and footwear. Volunteers who would like to paint on the
day are also asked to wear suitable clothing.
Support for the event has been received from Eagle IPA as the
main sponsors and Jordan’s, Little Monkey Murals, Mr Simms Sweet
Shoppe in Bedford, Thornton’s, Hyspec and McDonalds (High Street
& Aspects stores). Paint for the mural has been donated by
Dulux Trade Paints (Akzo Nobel), the painting equipment was donated
by Gibbs and Dandy and an anti-graffiti coating was donated by
Coo-Var paints.