Thanet community news: Scout group litter pick, Culmer’s allotments, jamboree fundraiser, beach clean, singalong, netball and more

1st Westgate-on-Sea Scout Group ready for their litter pick

Westgate-on-Sea Scout Group

Last Saturday 1st Westgate-on-Sea Scout Group joined forces with Westgate-on-Sea Town Council and their Litter Picking Corps to help keep Westgate-on-Sea Tidy.

1st Westgate-on-Sea Scout Group were given a grant to purchase the litter picking equipment to help make it easier for our Beavers, Cubs and Scouts to achieve some of their most important badges like Environmental Conservation, Community impact and their World Challenge.

The Scout Group is committed to supporting our community in any way possible and taking part in litter picks is easy and now assessable now thanks to the grant. The litter picks give the young people an opportunity to learn about the environment we live in and how to help protect our surroundings.

The group of young people were fascinated by the items of rubbish they found and were very keen to ensure they didn’t miss a thing!

We are always looking for volunteers to help support our group. If you would like to support young people learn Skills4Life and you want to make new friends then volunteering at 1st Westgate-on-Sea Scout Group is the place for you! Please email [email protected].

Culmer’s Allotment Society

August saw the arrival of a fabulous shiny shredder at Culmer’s Allotments in Broadstairs, Kent, funded by the Amity Allotment Fund.

Opened in March 2022, Amity awarded its first environment themed grant through Kent Community Foundation to Culmer’s Allotment Society Limited in Broadstairs enabling them to purchase this much needed piece of equipment for use on their large 120 plot site.

Culmer’s application highlighted the environmental benefits that shredding delivers by speeding up the process of composting due to worms and microbial action and lessening the need for bonfires and trips to the recycling centre.

If a quarter of us switched from dumping organic waste in landfill sites to composting it, we’d save the equivalent of 2.5 tonnes of CO2 from reaching the atmosphere each year.

The Allotment Society was delighted to receive the grant and invited the funders, colleagues and members to attend an unveiling and demonstration with refreshments on Tuesday 9th August.

Danielle Nash, Grants Officer from the funding umbrella organisation, Kent Community Foundation, attended the unveiling and was given a guided tour of the site, on a beautiful sunny day, by Culmer’s chairperson Malcolm Flory.

Fundraising for  Paige’s jamboree 2023

Paige is an Explorer in the Holy Trinity Sea Scouts. This year she has been selected as one of six young people  to embark on a trip of a life time.

She has been chosen to attend the 2023 World Jamboree in South Korea. But she needs some help to achieve this.

Paige will be raising funds for the trip and will be posting/blogging updates, photos and organising events.

In Summer 2023, more than 40,000 Scouts from all over the world will gather in Korea for the 25th World Scout Jamboree. The World Scout Jamboree (WSJ) is a World Organisation of the Scout Movement (WOSM) event. It happens every four years, each time hosted by a different country.

Thousands of UK young people aged 14 to 17 and their leaders will in South Korea and will call themselves the UK Contingent.

The Contingent are more than just travel buddies, they are planners, fundraisers, motivators and mentors.

Scouts want to see action and the UK Contingent plans to be a trailblazer for getting young voices heard.

In the event that Paige raises too much money or that the event is cancelled for any reason or she cannot attend, the funds raised will be used for future international experiences

Thanet District Scouts charity number – 303423

As part of the fundraiser to help Paige fund her trip the Westgate United Services Club is holding a quiz night next Saturday (August 20) from 7pm.

Tickets are £5 per person (no more than six adults to a team), children 10 and under £2.50. There will also be raffles and games to be played.

Message Westgate United Services Club on facebook to book in.

Kent Police join community beach clean

It can be said that police often clean up the streets by bringing offenders to justice, but later this month officers in Margate plan to take part in a different kind of clean-up operation.

On Saturday 20 August, Kent Police will be joining forces with volunteers from Rise Up, Clean Up as well as Thanet District Council and other partner agencies to take part in a community beach clean event on Margate Main Sands.

The event is the idea of PC Steve England from the Thanet Multi-Agency Task Force who, together with his colleagues, wanted to show that everyone can play a part in keeping the beaches in Thanet looking good.

PC England said: ‘Kent Police has been working hard this summer to keep our coastal towns safe and welcoming as residents and visitors choose to spend their holidays here.

‘By helping to keep the beaches free of litter, not only does it have a beneficial impact to coastal wildlife and the environment, but also it encourages others to take pride in their surroundings and in turn helps to deter crime and disorder.

‘Everyone, young and old, is welcome to come along and take part in our beach clean.

‘Together with partner agencies over the summer months, we’ve aimed to tackle any issues that may affect the wider public’s enjoyment of the area and during the beach clean, officers will also be on hand to speak to people about any concerns they want to raise or any ideas to keep Thanet safe.’

The beach clean will start from 7pm and anyone interested in getting involved should meet at the Lifeguard Station where bags and litter pickers will be available.

Margate Rotary boot fair

Time to sort out your unwanted goods and join us for our annual Boot Fair.

Sunday, August 28, Palm Bay Recreation Ground CT9 3PP. Gate opens at 7am

NO TRADE PLEASE. Cars £8 Vans £12 Vans with trailers £12

Just turn up at 7am to secure a pitch.

Thank you for helping us to create opportunities in our local community.

www.margaterotary.com

Fundraiser for Ukrainian Families

Lunchtime fundraising event at St Philip’s Church, Summerfield Avenue, Palm Bay, on September 3 from noon.

Remembering the end of World War II singalong and music with DJ Mick Tee, Includes fish or sausage and chips lunch, Vegetarian option available.

£15 per ticket, booking essential, cash bar available. Raffle.

Book by calling Charlie on 07572989470 or Barry on 07479986688

Thanet Return to Netball

Thanet Return to Netball is now taking names for September.

Sessions are run by qualified coaches from J & L Netball Club in conjunction with The Thanet & District Netball League and are fun and for all ages and abilities.

For players who want to take it a step further J&L can guide you into the Thanet & District

Netball League, where you can be a floater, join a team, train to be an umpire or even start your own team.

J&L runs term time only on Tuesdays from 6pm-7pm at King Ethelbert’s School in Birchington.

Find Thanet Return to Netball on facebook and drop them a message for more information.

Martha Trust

The Martha Trust charity, which supports young people and adults with profound disabilities, held their 6th annual Music4Martha event on the Square in Deal, alongside long term supporters and sponsors The Kings Head, The Port Arms and Dunkerleys.

The event was free to attend and the crowds were treated to a variety of music from Bradley Bogus Holbrook, Chapeaux, Pennyspent, Spyplane, The Mike Kelly Band and The Martellos.

The compere for the day was Miss Sarah Banks, the sound was provided by Mark One Sound & Light plus Deal Radio were broadcasting live all day from the event.

There were also dance compilations by students from Dean Academy of Performing Arts School.

Josh King Magician circulated the tables wowing people with his close up magic, the décor was provided by Balloonarama Party and the event was attended by Anna’s Face Candy offering Face paints and Cookes Cakery serving delicious tray bakes. Solleys Ice cream provided a freezer full of ice-cream to sell too.

The event was supported by the Ramsgate Barclays branch who also gave match funding and raised over £5800 on the day with more monies to follow.

The event was also sponsored by 2022 Events Sponsor CH Staffing and JT & C Builders Ltd

Fundraising & Events Officer Kerry Banks BEM said: “It was incredible on Sunday – on behalf of our residents and staff, thank you so much to everyone that came along to support- the atmosphere was amazing!

“Special thanks to everyone who gave their time for free to help deliver this event.- we couldn’t do it without you- our Volunteers are amazing!

“Thank you also to all our auction and raffle donators including Shepherd Neame, Saintly Suppers, The Cider Works, LWC, Stonelees Golf Centre, Kent UK, Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club, Boonies, Nail Squad Nail Bar, Maddie 4 Music, Salon23 and much more!”

Next year’s date has already been confirmed as Sunday 6th August 2023.

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor for this event, please get in touch by calling  on 01304 610448 or emailing [email protected] for more details

RSPB and Barratt Homes

As research reveals that swift populations have declined by 50% in the last three decades, housebuilder Barratt Homes  has partnered with wildlife charity RSPB to develop a unique ‘swift brick’, the first custom-designed nesting brick for swifts that can be safely implemented into the fabric of homes at its new build developments.

The brick’s innovative design responds to the loss of swift habitats across the UK, due to changes to roof design, the renovation of older properties and demolition of derelict buildings. To restore much-needed swift habitats in Ramsgate, Barratt Kent will install a total of 50 swift bricks at Spitfire Green, on New Haine Road, throughout  the lifetime of the site.

These bricks form part of a new and widespread conservation movement, which has seen a total of 4,000 bricks introduced across the housebuilder’s developments in the South East since 2016. Having now hit its goal of installing 4,000 swift bricks across all developments, Barratt Homes has announced a new uprated target of 7,000 swift bricks to be installed by the end of 2025.

Every year the swift helps announce the arrival of summer as they complete a 3,400 mile migration journey to nest and raise their young in the UK. They are the fastest bird in level flight, reaching up to 69mph, and don’t touch the ground for the first three years of their lives. Even after their early years, they only land to breed, continuing to eat, mate, and even sleep in the air.

David Thomas, chief executive of Barratt Developments, said: “Swifts are such important birds and we are pleased with the 4,000 swift bricks we have installed so far. But, we have to keep on working hard with the RSPB to give these birds even more homes, which is why we are raising our target by another 3,000 swift nesting bricks, aiming to install some 7,000 in total in our homes across the country by 2025.”

The RSPB has also partnered with the Swift Local Network and charity, Action for Swifts, to develop Swift Mapper – a web and app-based platform that allows anyone to record swift activity and nesting sites. Records submitted to Swift Mapper help people to learn more about this iconic species and target conservation efforts.

Swift Mapper is available for download on the App Store and Google Play Store or can be accessed online at https://www.swiftmapper.org.uk