Tag Archives: Enviroment

The butt stops here: preventing environmental crime

Gordon Brady, 3GS's Operations Manager, smiling.
Today’s guest blog is from Gordon Brady, Operations Manager at 3GS

3GS has been working alongside Bristol City Council, tackling environmental crimes in the city through the Clean Streets Enforcement campaign, to create measurably cleaner streets.

Officers have been patrolling the city every day to cut down on environmental crime and increase environmental awareness. when caught, perpetrators are given a fixed penalty notice on the spot. The cases of those who refuse to pay are transferred to the courts for prosecution, where they are usually required to pay a larger fine.

3GS officers working on behalf of the council have been patrolling the streets of Bristol since February 2019, and so far, have issued 16,000 fixed penalty notices, with over 3,000 cases that have either been taken to or are in the process of being taken to court.

The work our officers do in preventing environmental crime is vital for our city. The crime has an extremely negative impact on our streets and costs Bristol’s council taxpayers millions of pounds to clear up every year.

3GS officers regularly prosecute the perpetrators of avoidable environmental crimes across Bristol:

  • Dropping litter on the street or from your vehicle, including chewing gum and cigarette butts. Our officers have issued over 14,000 penalty notices to individuals dropping cigarettes.
  • Graffiti: this includes painting or damaging a tree or any road signs
  • Flyposting: officers have issued fines for over 500 examples of flyposting.
  • Fly tipping: a reckless and lazy act, that damages Bristol’s wildlife.
  • Public urination and spitting: our officers have dealt with 242 cases of spitting and 38 cases of public urination.
  • Nuisance parking: like vehicles for sale.
  • There are cases of individuals not putting their domestic or commercial waste out properly.
  • Breaches of a Community Protection Notice.
  • Breach of Public Space Protection Orders, such as not clearing up your dogs’ mess; not keeping your dog under control; taking a dog into an excluded area, such as an enclosed children’s play area; drinking in a no-drinking area.
Mayor Marvin Rees, taking part in the Clean Streets Campaign with Easton primary school.

While the progress towards curbing environmental crime has evidently been positive, our hard work continues.

Recently, to help provide a more attractive street scene, 3GS officers have taken on the role of assisting their council colleagues in the investigation and enforcement of the handling of waste by Bristol’s commercial businesses, under section 47 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

In addition to this, the council offers educational programmes designed to change attitudes towards environmental crime, such as litter picks and billboard campaigns that teach the benefits of a cleaner, safer environment.

As the council takes a closer look at how we can all improve our relationship with waste during national recycling week, we celebrate a partnership that has helped transform the environmental landscape of Bristol. Supporting in the crackdown on offenders who have been responsible for the environmental deterioration of the city.

Deanfield Outdoor Centre celebrates 50 years as an education provider

Young person leaping onto the zip wire at Deanfield Outdoor Centre

Located in the beautiful Forest of Dean, Deanfield Outdoor Centre is a residential outdoor education centre, which is owned and operated by Bristol City Council’s Trading with Schools service. Since first opening its doors in September 1972, Deanfield has welcomed over 175,000 young people who have participated in outdoor activities and courses at the centre.

In early September, Deanfield celebrated its fiftieth anniversary with an event on site. Schools were invited along to the celebratory event along with other guests and current and former staff of Deanfield Outdoor Centre. Richard Hanks, Director of Education and Skills at Bristol City Council unveiled a standing stone to commemorate the centre’s fiftieth anniversary. A time capsule was also buried beside the stone for future generations of young people to discover.

The group standing by the standing stone as they celebrate 50 years of Deanfield Outdoor Centre.

As well as celebrating 50 years, the event also aimed to showcase the extensive activities and fantastic facilities that Deanfield has to offer. School children were encouraged to sample some of the activities including the zip wire, climbing tower, leap of faith, tunnels system and bushcraft.

I know how important it is for young people to get to experience nature. Being able to explore more of the world was a key experience of my own youth growing up in Bristol. For many young people growing up in cities, access to nature can be scarce, Deanfield Outdoor Centre does incredible work in making these experiences more widely accessible.

The environment is at the heart of Deanfield’s education programme as well as teaching about the benefits of outdoor activity. Being in the Forest of Dean, Deanfield incorporates its surroundings to create educational programmes centred around nature. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on our mental and physical wellbeing and many children have become even more disconnected from nature than ever before. The work that Deanfield does is instrumental in providing young people with a safe environment to build confidence and learn new skills in the outdoors. Young people are encouraged to experience and learn about their environment through activities such as bushcraft and orienteering.

Deanfield Outdoor Centre House, the building is covered in green moss.
Deanfield Outdoor Centre

The centre also caters for families during the summer and corporate groups throughout the year. Ground floor accommodation is fully accessible, and activities can be catered for young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

If you would like to find out more about Deanfield Outdoor Centre, please visit our website, or contact Deanfield Outdoor Centre directly on dfsc@bristol.gov.uk.