As part of the Stand for Nature Youth Forum I am thrilled to share some exciting updates on our recent community outreach efforts with the Save our Taff campaign. I will run you through our approach to community engagement, including details about some of the valuable connections we've made to foster community engagement and further our campaign awareness so far.

Why Meeting with Other Groups is Important

As one of our aims for the campaign we have identified why collaborating with other community groups is crucial for successful awareness, several reasons include:

Shared Knowledge and Resources: Each group brings unique expertise and resources, enriching our collective efforts to address pollution.

Broader Reach: By working together, we can amplify our message and engage a larger audience, increasing the impact of our campaign.

Unified Effort: A united front sends a stronger message to policymakers and stakeholders about the community’s dedication to preserving the River Taff.

We believe that this issue will require a unified approach, working together with many different community groups & organisations to achieve a cleaner, healthier river Taff for all. Through this campaign, we have been able to work with some incredible people and groups who share our concerns and are lending their expertise or support to our campaign.

South East Wales Rivers Trust Collaboration and Riverfly Sampling Training

We recently had the opportunity to collaborate with the River Trust in Treforest, which led to a valuable training session on river pollution sampling. During the session, we learned how to measure levels of nitrate and phosphate in the river, and then logged our findings on the citizens science app. Applying this knowledge, we conducted sampling in an area of the Taff, contributing essential groundwork to our campaign's efforts in measuring river pollution.

Additionally, we participated in the Urban Riverfly training with Gareth from the Rivers Trust. This involved collecting river samples to analyse the presence of various fly species in their early stages. By identifying these species and logging them in the database, we contribute to monitoring their numbers in specific areas, which in turn helps assess the overall health of the river. Increased fly population indicates a healthy water source for river wildlife, underscoring the significance of our collaborative efforts in safeguarding the river Taff’s ecosystem.

Meeting with Friends of Bute Park

Recently, we had a productive meeting with the dedicated members of Friends of Bute Park community group. This gathering was more than just a discussion; it was a collaborative effort to tackle the next stages of assessing the current pollution levels in the river Taff. Our campaign aims to connect and involve community groups to increase awareness of river pollution, and this meeting was a fantastic opportunity to gain new insights and foster partnerships.

During the meeting, we conducted a presentation to showcase our campaign’s progress, goals, and the important reasons behind promoting awareness of river pollution in the Taff. Highlighting the actions we’ve taken so far, such as designing campaign materials, launching our website, and conducting community surveys. This allowed us to spread our aims and commitments and how important we believe the issue is.

Collaboration with the Cardiff Otter Project

Another exciting development has been our collaboration with the Cardiff Otter Project at Cardiff University. The project offers valuable insights into the otter populations around the River Taff. We joined them on an assessment walk to locate signs of otter activity, such as footprints, droppings, scratches, and slides along the riverbank. This experience provided us with a deeper understanding of the biodiversity along the Taff and highlighted how pollution hot spots might be affecting local wildlife.

Community Outreach at St Fagans Museum Celebration of Nature

We have also now attended our first community outreach event at St Fagans museum as part of their “Celebration of Nature” day. We hosted a stall with a river pollution activity for families to play, and also had links to our website and questionnaire. Over 2500 people attended the event throughout the day, and managed to engage many of them with our campaign.

Youth Group Activities and Future Plans

As a youth group, we’ve been holding regular meetings to discuss our ongoing and future campaign plans. Our recent discussions have focused on:

Locational Filming for Our Campaign Video: Identifying key spots along the Taff that need more attention and filming them to raise awareness. We are now in the post production stages of the campaign video, and are eager to present this on our website very soon.

Mapping Out Pollution Hot Spots: Creating a detailed map of areas along the Taff that require urgent intervention and increased awareness. Once established we are aiming to undertake monthly river pollution assessments to gage an understanding of the fluctuations of pollution levels.

Understanding Community Perceptions: We have recently devised a survey with the aim of gathering qualitative data on local perceptions about pollution levels in the river Taff. This would create a map of how river pollution is considered among the public and residents within Cardiff and along the river Taff. We hope to establish whether pollution is a public concern, and it not raise awareness of our campaign and how the public can participate.

These activities ensure that we continue to promote the awareness of our campaign effectively. We’re committed to involving and collaborating with more community members and groups to create a comprehensive project that benefits the wider community.

Join Us in Our Mission: How Can You Participate?

The fight to save our rivers is a collective effort, and every individual can make a significant difference. Here’s how you can help reduce or prevent river pollution:

1. Proper Waste Disposal: Ensure that trash is disposed of properly and not left in parks or public spaces where it can wash into the river.
2. Reduce Plastic Use: Limit your use of single-use plastics and opt for reusable items to prevent plastic waste from polluting waterways.
3. Join Clean-Up Efforts: Participate in local river clean-up events to remove litter and debris from the riverbanks.
4. Use Eco-Friendly Products: Choose biodegradable and environmentally friendly household products to reduce chemical run-off into the river.
   • This Includes Dog Flea Treatment: These treatments often contain chemicals such as fipronil and imidacloprid, which are potent insecticides. When pets treated with these chemicals come into contact with water, such as through bathing or swimming in rivers, the chemicals can wash off and enter the waterway, in turn impacting river health.
5. Report Pollution: If you see illegal dumping or signs of pollution, report it to local authorities or environmental organizations.
6. Educate and Advocate: Spread awareness about the importance of river conservation and advocate for policies that protect our waterways.

However, we understand that many of these are not accessible to everyone, therefore the best and most effective way you can assist us in our campaign would be to fill in our survey. This survey is will only take 5 minutes to complete and will aid us in our mission in understanding public perception about river pollution with the Taff. We will be able to analyse the data and opinions of individuals who have completed the survey and gain a better understanding of whether river pollution is a high community concern. With these findings we can work out what areas have lower public concern than other, meaning we will know the locations along the river Taff where greater campaign awareness is needed.

We invite everyone to join us in our mission to save the River Taff. Together, we can make a significant impact and ensure the River Taff remains a vibrant and healthy part of Cardiff’s natural heritage. Stay tuned for more updates and follow our journey as we continue to work towards a cleaner, healthier River Taff. Thank you for your support and dedication!