The Green Flag Award is the benchmark national standard for publicly accessible parks and green spaces in the United Kingdom. The scheme was set up in 1996 to recognise and reward green spaces in England and Wales that met the laid down high standards.

The scheme is owned by the Government through the Department for Communities and Local Government, with support from Keep Britain Tidy and Keep Wales Tidy and the sponsorship of DS Smith and idverde.

This year the award ceremony for businesses and charities in Wales and the South West of England was held at the magnificent Pittville Pump Room in Cheltenham. The litter-free Pittville Park in which the  Pump Room stands was itself a recipient of one of this year’s Flags.

We were very proud that the Swansea Canal Society was chosen to receive a Green Flag for our work in maintaining the  Swansea Canal, for our community canoe hire project and for our work done on the canal locks, towpaths, verges and banks in 2015/2016. In all this work, we are grateful for the considerable help that the Canal and River Trust gives us. Gordon Walker and myself travelled to Cheltenham on July 21st to receive the certificate and flag on behalf of the Society.

The interior of the Pump Room is as beautiful as its exterior and it was a superb setting in which to recognise the work of all the winning organisations. We were  seated at the same table as the Friends of Cwm Clydach Countryside Park, Rhondda and the Knighton Community Park, Powys. An 85 year old representative of the latter group told me that he was in Swansea on the last day of the blitz in 1941.

Gordon and I were resplendent in matching blue check shirts,  hand woven out of old table cloths  from Brownsters Cafe in Clydach. We had specially chosen them to colour co-ordinate with the seats in the reception room.

Our new friend from Knighton took this shot of us outside the Pump Room prior the presentation. We will have the official photo of us receiving the certificate from the Mayor of Cheltenham, and Lesley Jones,  Chief Executive of Keep Wales Tidy, later.  A further ceremony to recognise the Welsh winners will be held at Singleton Park on August the 4th.

Blog and photos by Martin