Newsletter, Litter Picks etc.

Just in case you haven't seen it, the Winter Newsletter (which includes litter pick dates from January 2016 onwards) is available on the "Latest Newsletter" page.

Next Litter pick reminder

Good morning everyone

Just a quick reminder that our next litter pick will be on Saturday 12th December – meet 2pm at Townbridge.

This will be our last group litter pick of the year so I hope to see some of you there and maybe we can get together for a coffee afterwards.

If I don't see you before Christmas, may I take this opportunity to wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a healthy, peaceful and tidy New Year.

With Seasons Greetings,

Janet

Janet Chisholm B.E.M.
Chair of Middlewich Clean Team

Reminder

Good morning everyone

Just a quick reminder that our next litter pick will be next Monday 30th November – meet 2pm in Tesco car park.

Also, could I just mention that the Christmas Fayre is taking place on Saturday in the town centre. We have been asked to help out with stewarding around the Bull Ring during the Lights Switch-On, so several of us will be there doing our bit to keep everyone safe and probably doing a bit of litterpicking at the same time. So, if you're free on Saturday afternoon, get your hi-vis jacket and come along to join in the fun. The Makers Market will be on all day from 10am, there will be entertainment from 2pm, then the countdown for the Switch-On will start at 4pm in the Bull Ring, culminating with the Lights at 4.30 followed by the fireworks.

I hope to see some of you at the litter pick on Monday or at the Christmas celebrations on Saturday.

Very best wishes,
Janet Chisholm B.E.M.
Chair of Middlewich Clean Team

New Townbridge Bench

Photos: Middlewich Guardian

MIDDLEWICH Clean Team has placed a new bench and planters at Townbridge for everyone to enjoy. Last year's town mayor and clean team member Councillor Bernice Walmsley supported the clean team as one of her mayor’s charities and the clean team planned to use this to place a new bench at Townbridge to replace the old one. That plan has now materialised, Cllr Walmsley said: “It’s great to see the bench in place and looking so at home on Town Bridge. The donation came from my fundraising when I was Mayor of Middlewich and it has taken a while to get it sorted, but I’m sure everyone will agree that it has been worth taking the time to get it right. I’d like to thank everyone involved for making this happen". Stephen Dent, vice-chairman of Middlewich Clean Team, said: “We are very grateful to Cllr Bernice Walmsley for the donation to the clean team from the town mayor's charity fund. We hope the new feature at Townbridge brightens up this otherwise drab gateway into town."  

The bench was made by Carl Dennis, at Roadodendrons using wood milled at Wild Wood Saw Milling in Over Peover.

Our next litter pick

Good morning everyone,

Just a quick reminder that our next litter pick will be this Saturday 14^th November – meet 2pm in Kings Lock car park.
I hope to see some of you there.

Very best wishes
Janet Chisholm B.E.M.
Chair of Middlewich Clean Team

Middlewich High School Personal Learning Group Explore Volunteering

Middlewich Clean Team were invited to Middlewich High School last week to talk to pupils who are part of the Middlewich High School Personal Learning Group.  

MCT are community partners with the High School and a key part the MCT education package is working in partnership with local Schools .

The remit of the Pupils  module is to find out about local groups in the community , what drives them to be volunteers & how they work. Committee member Maxine Hemmings has reported that the MCT committee were impressed with the response of the pupils and the committee is looking forward to hearing the pupils feedback as part of an ongoing project.

Having Fun Delivering The Message

Photo: Fiona Bruce

Photo: Fiona Bruce

Saturday 31st October, Fiona Bruce MP and Middlewich Clean Team Chairperson Janet Chisholm BEM, were promoting the Clean Team at Middlewich's Makers Market.
 

The Middlewich Clean Team can be contacted via this website, Facebook and by attending any of our events however the Makers Market provided another opportunity for Middlewich people to find out about the Clean Team and what can be done to keep our town a nice place to be by chatting face to face to happy Clean Team members.

Annual Community Bulb Planting 2015 at Brynlow Drive

Some of the many volunteers that turned out to help. Photo:Stephen Dent

On Sunday 25th October, we were well supported for our Annual Community Bulb Planting which is just as well as we had hundreds of bulbs to plant at the bottom of Brynlow Drive and our hope that 'Many hands would make light work' became a reality. 

Photo: Stepen Dent

Middlewich's Mayor Ken Kingston and his consort Sue Johns presided over events as the enthusiastic volunteers of all ages got to work planting the bulbs in the rows of prepared holes.

This is a community event and anyone that is willing to join in is always welcome. It well be lovely to see a plendid display of blooms to welcome in the spring next year.

Photo:Stephen Dent

Photo:Stephen Dent

Photo:Stephen Dent

Photo:Stephen Dent

Photo: Stephen Dent

Janet's lemon drizzle cake is famous in the Middlewich Clean Team and beyond so a job well done was duly rewarded with the mouth watering delight. Many thanks to everyone involved in making our annual bulb planting possible one again.

The Middlewich Clean Team is a voluntary group with a vision to develop and promote a culture of pride in the town and the community by working towards a litter free town and a pleasant environment for all to live in. We are a positive, forward thinking group who are prepared to work hard to achieve our aims.

As well as planting bulbs and organising litter picks, we also encourage and support individuals to help us in whatever way they can, whether by picking litter in their immediate area, joining group litter picks or by highlighting problem areas. Anyone can help us and if you would like to know more you can find out how to contact us here.

Annual Community Bulb Planting Sunday 25th October

Hello everyone

We will be holding our Annual Community Bulb Planting. This year we will be planting hundreds of bulbs on land at the bottom of Brynlow Drive. The saying 'Many hands make light work' is especially true at our planting sessions so please do try to come along. Please bring a trowel and plenty of enthusiasm – everyone is welcome.

Best wishes                                                                                  

Janet
Janet Chisholm BEM
Chairperson Middlewich Clean Team

Litter pick this Saturday 17th October

Hello everyone

Just a quick reminder - our next litter pick is Saturday 17^th October, meet in Salt Cellar Car Park at 2pm.

Hope lots of you will be able to make this litter pick on Saturday.

Best wishes                                                                                  

Janet
Janet Chisholm BEM
Chairperson Middlewich Clean Team

Litter pick reminder

Hello everyone

Just a quick reminder - our next litter pick is Monday 28th September, meet in Tesco Car Park at 2pm.

Hope lots of you will be able to make this litter pick on Monday.

Best wishes                                                                                  
Janet

Janet Chisholm BEM
Chairperson Middlewich Clean Team

Litter Pick Dates September to December 2015

• Saturday 12th Sept, 2.00pm. Morrisons car park
• Monday 28th Sept, 2.00pm. Tesco car park
• Saturday 17th Oct, 2.00pm. Salt Cellar car park
• Monday 26th Oct, 2.00pm. Warmingham Lane/Long Lane car park
• Saturday 14th Nov, 2.00pm. Kings Lock car park
• Monday 30th Nov, 2.00pm. Tesco car park
• Saturday 12th Dec, 2.00pm. Town Bridge car park

Happy litter picking!
Janet

Janet Chisholm BEM
Chair – Middlewich Clean Team

Katy Lee Remembered

Members of Middlewich Clean Team have been busy tidying Katy's Wall over the summer. Two members Darren Ketley and Vicky Perez trimmed, cut back, and weeded the area on Lewin Street which was built in memory of one of the founder committee members, Katy Lee, who tragically died in a road accident when Clean Team was in its infancy. 

A group gathered this evening and new bark was distributed too finish the job. Katy would have loved to have been along side us laughing, litter picking, and having fun keeping our town looking clean and tidy. We are now in our thirteenth year and are always looking for new members.... we currently have over 200 people who look after an area close to their home, we supply litter pickers and tabards for those wishing to join our group.

2nd Cledford Brownie Litter Pick

Middlewich Clean Team were out and about on Monday Evening with the 2nd Cledford Brownies. As you can see from the photographs they were all enjoying the litter picking along the canal. 

We had approximately eighteen brownies and their leaders helping to keep our town tidy and litter free. 

Many thanks to all involved.

Our last litter pick until September

Our next litter pick is Saturday 18th July, meet in Morrisons Car Park at 2pm. This will be our last litter pick until September so I and all the Clean Team Committee would like to wish you a wonderful Summer.

Don't forget also that we have an event going on in our town over the weekend – the Classic Car & Bike Show. This means, of course, that there will be a lot of people out and about and it is especially important to try to keep our town tidy. So, if you have a little spare time on Saturday or Sunday, I'm sure that any litter picking we can do will be really appreciated.

Looking forward to seeing some of you on Saturday.

Best wishes,
Janet

Janet Chisholm BEM

Chairperson Middlewich Clean Team

Next litter pick Monday 13th July

Just a quick reminder - our next litter pick is Monday 13^th July, meet in the main Tesco Car Park at 2pm. If you can, please bring a friend for an hour's litter picking.

Looking forward to seeing some of you there.

Best wishes,                                                                                  

Janet

Janet Chisholm BEM

Chairperson Middlewich Clean Team

Litter pick with (Tuesday Night) 2nd Middlewich Cubs 7/7/2015

Darren Applies A Lick Of Paint

Hello Everyone  ….. I spotted Darren yesterday smartening up the CCT post at the bottom of Southway.  I hope that you agree that this is going the extra mile.  I was so thrilled as this was one of the improvements that CEC sanctioned at the end of last year.  Permission was granted but Darren did the job on behalf of Middlewich Clean Team in readiness for the Makers Market.

Darren also painted the post on Wheelock Street near the junction with St. Michael's Way and has is eye on the one at the Bull Ring could do with the same attention! 

Well Done Darren it has made such a difference in this area.

Kind regards

Janet

Community Planting Spring 2015 - Full Report

Rain from earlier on in the afternoon subsided and occasional sunshine together with a brisk breeze soon dried the ground out so all the geraniums were safely planted; thanks to the fantastic volunteers who came along to help this evening.  Along with Middlewich Clean Team there were cubs, church members, members of the U3A, Tesco staff and Kingdom Kids.  The youngest person was still in nappies and one of our older members got down and dirty with the help of a walking stick. 

This was truly a team effort - it just shows when we all work together great things can be achieved.

St Michael’s Mothers Union kindly ensured that the volunteers had light refreshments afterwards and Ian Jones came along to capture the moment - the photographs will be visible if you click here or the "Read More" link below.

Marvellous.

FAB Litter picks

Hello everyone

Just to let you know the arrangements for litter picking during the forthcoming FAB weekend – I and a few other members will meet at 2.00pm on Saturday (20th) at the fire station for an hours wandering and litter picking.  

Everyone is invited and of course if people just want to pick as they are out and about over the weekend that also would be wonderful.  

Our next organised litter pick will be on Monday 22nd meeting at 2pm on the Civic Way car park. Litter picking for an hour (hopefully in the sunshine!) will allow us to do a bit of tidying up after the FAB Festival, keeping our town lovely.

Best wishes,
Janet

Janet Chisholm BEM
Chairperson Middlewich Clean Team

Litter Pick on Saturday 13th June

Hello everyone,

Hope you're enjoying this fine weather – it's lovely for litter picking!

Our next litter pick is this Saturday, 13th June, meet in the Salt Cellar Car Park at 2pm. Feel free to bring a friend for an hour's litter picking.

Best wishes

Janet

 

Janet Chisholm BEM

Chairperson Middlewich Clean Team

 

Community Planting - Live Report

The Cubs were very enthusiastic.       Photo: Ian Jones

Here we are at St. Michael and all Angels church for the 2015 community planting. The weather has improved and planting is under way. The clean team, cubs, scouts and some local people enthusiastically get to work.

Afterwards chairperson, Janet Chisholm praised the good work of everyone involved. Hear her comments in the video below:

More photos will be uploaded at a later date.

The Clean Team go to Market!

Yesterday four committee members (L-R Janet Chisholm, Bernice Walmsley, Polly Chalk and Hilary Jones) engaged with the public – finding out if they have specific areas of concern about litter in Middlewich and encouraging them to join Middlewich Clean Team. Everyone was so positive about our work and we signed two new members.  What came out of this event was that many more people in our town are doing their own little bit keeping an area around their home tidy regardless of if they are members or not.  

Janet said, "'We all felt that the two hours was well spent and it has raised the profile of MCT again in the town".

Bernice added, "It was a lovely positive way to spend a couple of hours at the Makers Market, chatting with residents and also with lots of people who came to Middlewich just for the market and were impressed with our friendly town".

Annual Community Planting in St Michael’s Church Yard on Tuesday 2nd June

I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to the Annual Community Planting in St Michael's Church Yard on Tuesday 2^nd June. We will meet at 6pm and everyone is welcome to come along and help to make our town a prettier place for the Summer. The Clean Team will provide the Geraniums, but please bring a trowel if you have one.

Best wishes,
Janet

Janet Chisholm BEM,
Chairperson Middlewich Clean Team

Litter pick on Monday 18th May

Just a quick reminder that our next litter pick will be next Monday 18^th May, meeting at 2pm at Town Bridge Car Park. Don't forget – you can always bring a friend – the more the merrier!

Best wishes,
Janet

Janet Chisholm BEM
Chairperson Middlewich Clean Team

 

 

Litter pick on Saturday 9th May

Hello

Just a quick reminder that our next litter pick will be next Saturday 9^th May, meeting at 2pm at the Kings Lock Car Park. Don't forget – you can always bring a friend – the more the merrier!

During a recent meeting with a Streetscape officer, we were reminded that dog poo can be put in any of the Council's litter bins, so no need to search for a dog bin. Finally,  here's a useful link if you need to report fly tipping or an overflowing bin in our town.

http://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/environment/street_cleansing_and_litter/street_cleansing_and_litter.aspx

 

Best wishes

Janet

 

Janet Chisholm BEM

Chairperson Middlewich Clean Team

 

Spring 2015 Newsletter

Litter pick on Saturday

Just a quick reminder that our next litter pick will be next Saturday 11^th April, meeting at 2pm Morrisons Car Park. Let's hope that this beautiful weather continues into the weekend – I look forward to seeing you there for an hour's litter pick in the sunshine.

Best wishes

Janet

 

Janet Chisholm BEM

Chairperson Middlewich Clean Team

 

New Clean Team member is an 'inspiration'

Photo: Middlwich Guardian

THE Middlewich Clean Team has welcomed a new volunteer to the group who is inspiring the town.

Victoria Perez, who lives on Ventnor Close in Middlewich, suffers from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), short sightedness and weakness of muscles, leaving her dependent on a wheelchair.

However despite her disabilities, Victoria, who is a newcomer to the town as of last year, is eager to do her bit to keep her new home clean and tidy.

Victoria decided to join the Middlewich Clean Team after hearing about the group and is now looking after the area surrounding her house by litter picking and carrying out general tidy-ups.

Victoria said: “When I first moved in Daren Ketley from the Clean Team helped me and he sort of encouraged me to get involved when I told him about my concerns.

“I just thought it would be something nice to do to help the community.

“I am going to be cleaning and looking after my patch which is Bembridge Drive, Ventnor Close and Stallard Way.”

Victoria also has plans to tidy and reshape the hedges on Bembridge Drive with help from her fellow Clean Team volunteers.

Janet Chisholm, chairperson of the Middlewich Clean Team, said: “Vicky is a remarkable young woman, she’s just so inspirational.

“The Clean Team is all inclusive, anyone can join because we’ve all got our own skills and we’ve all got things to give.

“She’s an inspiration to everybody. If she can do what she is doing from a wheelchair it is fantastic and can encourage other people to do it as well.” 

Article reproduced by kind permission of the Middlewich Guardian.

Litter pick Monday 23rd March

Good morning All

Just a quick reminder that our next litter pick will be next Monday 23rd March, meeting at 2pm Townbridge Car Park.

Hope to see you all there – and don't forget to bring a friend if you can.

Best wishes

Janet

Janet Chisholm BEM

Chairperson Middlewich Clean Team

http://www.middlewichcleanteam.co.uk/     
https://www.facebook.com/MiddlewichCleanTeam

A Card From Tommy Thumbs

Inside: "We really enjoyed your visit. Love from Tommy Thumbs. xxx"

Last January we made our annual Nursery Visits which as well as teaching the children about litter the visits are also very enjoyable. It's a very worthwhile and rewarding time and all the more so when we get a positive message back, so we were thrilled to receive a lovely handmade 'Thank You' card from Tommy Thumbs.

Thank you too Tommy Thumbs.

Litter pick on Saturday

Hello everyone,

Just a quick reminder that we have a litter pick this Saturday 7^th March starting at 2pm at Total People car park at the junction of Centurion Way and King Street. The weather forecast looks promising so I hope to see a few of you there.

And don’t forget to bring a friend if you can – they will be made most welcome and a litter pick is a very sociable way to spend an hour.

Kind regards,
Janet Chisholm BEM,
Chairperson, Middlewich Clean Team.

http://www.middlewichcleanteam.co.uk/     
https://www.facebook.com/MiddlewichCleanTeam

Graffiti Has It's Place

Graffiti on graffiti, it had to go. Photo: Darren Ketley

Graffiti messages painted on canal walls around Middlewich must leave an impression on those that see them. The message itself may be pleasant enough but it's untidy and does not belong on canal bridges and adjoining walls.

In one particular case at Town Wharf Bridge the message itself had come under attack and had black wavy lines sprayed over the top making it even more of an eyesore, so it had to go. 

The difference speaks for itself. Photo: Darren Ketley

Clean Team members turned out with paint and rollers to return the walls to the state the should be in. The impression we hope to acheive is of a town that is clean, tidy and takes pride in it's appearance.

Chairperson Janet Chisholm said afterwards, "Seven members came along on the frosty dry Saturday morning to remove the ugly graffiti which has been blighting our canal area surrounding the Town Wharf.  The reward - a lovely tidy litter and graffiti free area  for all our community to enjoy." Janet added, "Thanks ever so much to everyone who helped."

Cigarette Butts - More Good News

Photo: Middlewich Guardian

Recent figures show huge falls in cigarette litter in the town. The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and Japan Tobacco International (JTI) joined forces with the Middlewich Clean Team last February and placed 34 cigarette butt bins around the town, including various pubs, clubs and the town hall.  The aim was to make Middlewich a nicer place to be by dramatically reducing Middlewich's contrubtion to the approximate 5 tonnes of smoking-related litter discarded every day in the UK.

Success came quickly and last July we reported a drop by half of smoking related litter and the latest news is that there is now a reduction of 71 per cent from when the bins were installed. These statistics come from Keep Britain Tidy, commissioned to monitor the progress of the project and show that the amount of smoking related litter has continued to fall. Stephen Dent, vice chairman of the Middlewich Clean Team, said: “This result is much better than anticipated and heralds the way for similar projects to take place up and down the UK. The Clean Team is used to working in partnership with other organisations but the team work with CPRE, JTI, and Middlewich Pubwatch has been exceptional and has produced outstanding results.” 

Samantha Harding, Stop the Drop campaign manager at the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said: “This is precisely the result we hoped to see. People often respond well to new things but to see Middlewich’s residents reducing cigarette litter even further during 2014 is really inspiring. All I can say is please keep up the good work.”

2015 Nursery Visits

Photo: Middlewich Guardian

Members Hilary Jones and Polly Chalk together with Clean Team Chairperson Janet Chisholm visited five nurseries in Middlewich on 27th January to teach the toddlers to put their litter in the bin.

They visited Playbox Playgroup, Peter Pan Pre-School, Rainbow Day Nursery, Tommy Thumbs and Early Learners Nursery during the annual Middlewich Clean Team nursery visits which have now been running for 7 years.


The team chatted with the children about the importance of putting litter in the bin and how Middlewich Clean Team try to encourage everybody to be litter conscious. The children then tried using junior sized 'crocodile' litter pickers for themselves.


Hilary said: “We were welcomed and we talked to the children about the importance of putting litter in the bin. The idea is to sow the seed that litter belongs in a bin and not on the ground and to encourage young ones to do so hopefully forever.”

Heather Blakemore, from Early Learners Nursery, said: “The children really enjoyed the message from the Middlewich Clean Team. I think it will make a difference with them and we will definitely do our best to reinforce the message along with the children’s parents.”

New Look For MCT Website

Our previous website has served well

The Middlewich Clean Team will be using this website from March 2015 onwards. At first it will contain quite a number of links back to the previous site which even after 7 years still serves well but does not easily permit multiple authors; this modified blog will.

As time goes by the links to previous site will be severed and this new site will take over completely.



There will not be any change in our web address, so www.middlewichcleanteam.co.uk at the time of writing points to our previous website but when the changover takes place it will bring visitors to this site instead. There will be no need to change any addresses or links.

Surprise New Year Donation From Barclays Bank

Photo: Darren Ketley

The Middlewich Clean Team has received a surprise donation of £250 from Barclays Bank at their Gadbrook Park offices in Rudheath. Clean Team Chairperson, Janet Chisholm said “We are extremely grateful to Barclays for this unexpected donation. We will now be able to buy some more heavy duty safety jackets for our volunteers who are out in all weathers keeping Middlewich clean and tidy”.

Barclays’ employee and Middlewich resident Mark Staley who nominated the Clean Team for this award said “This Barclays centre donates to numerous worthy causes each year, whereby colleagues are asked to suggest local charities or organisations that help make a real difference in their local communities. As a Middlewich resident, I am delighted that the Citizenship Committee accepted my nomination as the Clean Team undertakes admirable voluntary work in my home town.”