Bellamy charity honours Peacocks

15 Mar 2017 By David Watters

Legendary botanist and television presenter David Bellamy has helped Taunton Town become one of the first EVO-STIK League Southern clubs to win a conservation award for their efforts to save water!

The proud Peacocks are aiming to be self-sufficient in water and were honoured on Tuesday night with a Sustainable Watermark Award by Bellamy's Conservation Foundation and Wessex Water for their efforts over the last five years to harvest the precious natural resource before hosting Shortwood United in EVO-STIK League Southern Division One South & West.

Taunton Town chairman and head groundsman Kevin Sturmey is pictured at The Viridor Stadium before the 3-0 win collecting a cheque for £250 from Wessex Water’s process scientist Jim Humphries for their environmentally friendly water recycling scheme to store rain water and irrigate the club's playing surface.

Sturmey is now looking forward to using the cash boost to substantially increase the amount they can store in tanks installed by club volunteers thanks to Bellamy and the panel of Watermark Awards judges he chairs as president and founder of the Conservation Foundation.

Sturmey said: “We have found this to be such a successful system that we have decided to increase the amount of water stored. With a further ten tanks we will be able to keep the grass lush and growing even during a hot dry spell. If we can achieve this then the club will become self-sufficient in water and its playing surface will be kept to a high standard.

"The knock on benefits means that the U18’s plus other youth teams in the area will be playing on a very much improved surface. Their experience of football and the quality of their game will certainly improve because of this. We are delighted that today’s match will start with our Sustainable Watermark Award which will help us achieve this goal.”

Organised to provide funds for environmental projects within the Wessex Water area, the environmental accolades are now in their 23rd year and have supported more than 900 environmental initiatives since being set up by The Conservation Foundation.

Images courtesy of vaccinationinformationnetwork.com & tauntontown.com

Follow the EVO-STIK League Southern on Twitter at @SouthernLeague1

Where next?

Tuesday's South & West action review Taunton Town closed the gap on EVO-STIK League Southern Division One South & West leaders Hereford FC to a mere ten points on Tuesday night with a 3-0 home win over Shortwood United, writes Pitchero's Steve Whitney.

Salute puts reverse in perspective Hitchin Town lost their third versus fourth clash with Slough Town in the EVO-STIK League Southern's top flight on Saturday but they did themselves proud off the pitch hosting their now annual Forces Day.