Whitley Bay beauty spot volunteers celebrate Green Flag award
Community volunteers at a beauty spot in Whitley Bay are celebrating national recognition of their efforts.
Friends of Brierdene members have been recognised with a Green Flag Community Award for the Brierdene Wildlife Site in the town.
The award – an internationally recognised standard for parks and green spaces – comes as the group marks it’s 20th anniversary and is testament to two decades of hard work, passion and dedication by the volunteers whiuch has transformed a once-
unloved and neglected waste area.
Brierdene is now maintained to a high standard for visitors and residents to enjoy.
Steve Stone, the group’s biodiversity and volunteer coordinator and a founder member said “We are delighted to have been recognised with another Green Flag Award and we are grateful to our fantastic group of volunteers who have significantly improved the biodiversity in the Brierdene over the last 20 years.
"Thanks also are due to North Tyneside Council who look after the infrastructure in the area.”
Paul Todd, Green Flag Award manager at Keep Britain Tidy, said: “Green spaces like the Brierdene are essential public spaces that support our wellbeing.
“Friends of Brierdene have shown what can be achieved when natural wildlife areas are properly supported and managed.
"We want every community to have access to green spaces like this that are safe, welcoming and maintained to a high standard.”
The Green Flag Award Scheme is run by the environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, under contract from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government.