RECENTLY I attended a Barry Town Council memorial plaque unveiling ceremony at Merthyr Dyfan Cemetery honouring the lives of Elizabeth Hughes, Margaret Williams, Gareth Jones and Beatrice Lewis. Councillor Margaret Wilkinson spoke about Beatrice Lewis, the first woman to be elected as a councillor in Barry. She was a pioneering woman to be remembered.

With the school holidays and sunny weather it was great to see the launch of £5m funding for the Summer of Fun project. The Summer of Fun will be run by local authorities until September 30 and will provide a range of free leisure, recreational, sporting, and cultural activities for children and young people aged 0-25 to help support their social, emotional, physical, and mental wellbeing. Activities provided through the Summer of Fun will be free, in both English and Welsh and in addition to any regulated childcare provision. The Children’s Commissioner for Wales has launched an information hub to advertise the free activities available as part of the Summer of Fun: www.childcomwales.org.uk/summer-of-fun-2021/vale-of-glamorgan

I was pleased to join Butterfly Conservation Wales last week and visit the site of the High Brown Fritillary, a very rare butterfly that I am the species champion for in the Senedd. The High Brown Fritillary is native to the Vale and I was able to take part in the National Butterfly Survey in St Bride’s Major seeing 16 butterflies during our 15 minute walk. Last weekend, Barry Action for Nature carried out their Big Butterfly Count to contribute to this survey and I would like to thank them for all of their work. To get involved or find out more, visit the Big Butterfly Count website.

I would also like to remind everyone who is planning on visiting our beautiful coastline over the summer to make sure they are responsible and take their litter with them when they leave our beaches. Thank you to the Vale Council and all of the dedicated volunteers who are clearing up the rubbish on our beaches, and to those who have contacted me to let me know about their beach cleaning efforts. I hope visitors care for our beaches when they visit and that you all enjoy the good weather.