Gwenog Court Biodiversity Project
Vale Homes and Vale of Glamorgan Local Nature Partnership join forces to launch an intergeneration project working with All Saints Primary School and residents of Gwenog Court sheltered housing scheme to increase Biodiversity and enhance the local green space.
Vale Local Nature Partnership (LNP) has successfully received grant funding for 2021/2022 from the Welsh Government’s ‘Local Places for Nature’ Capital Fund.
The fund will enable the Vale’s LNP to deliver projects that aim to restore and enhance nature where people live, work and access public services.
Working in partnership with the Vale Homes Community Investment and Neighbourhood Management teams, we plan to develop a biodiversity project in the grounds of Gwenog Court, a sheltered housing complex in Barry which supports 87 residents.
Alongside the council, All Saints Primary School will also be involved in the project providing opportunities for inter-generational contact. At present the grounds have little to offer the residents, pupils or the local community. Through a grass roots up design process, we aim to make this area a flagship of what could be achieved for biodiversity and residents living in the Vale.
“We are thrilled to have received this support thanks to the Welsh Government’s Local Places for Nature grant. The project will provide an exciting opportunity for the residents and the local community to access and engage with nature on their doorstep”.
- Emily Shaw, Local Nature Partnership Co-ordinator
Green spaces around Gwenog Court
The project aims to offer the local community invaluable opportunities to access and engage with nature in an urban setting, as well as supporting social, physical and mental wellbeing. From inception to implementation, the residents and the local school will work closely with landscape architects, Soltys Brewster, to achieve a vision that caters for both people and nature.
“The residents of Gwenog Court are really looking forward to seeing how this project develops. It will help reduce social isolation and loneliness as there will be opportunities for the residents to have access to the outdoors where they can meet up and enjoy nature in the community they reside in”.
- Mark Ellis, a Community Investment and Involvement Officer
LNP Cymru Project
We are one of 23 Local Nature Partnerships across Wales involved in the LNP Cymru project co-ordinated by the WCVA and funded by Welsh Government. Our LNP forms part of the pan-Wales network to conserve, promote and enhance nature in our local area.
Each local authority across Wales is involved in the project which enables each partnership across Wales to work together to deliver meaningful and targeted change in line with Welsh Government aims and nature recovery policy objectives.
Our mission in the Vale is to reconnect people from all across the county with nature. Through partnership working, we aim to engage the public, local community groups and organisations, as well as schools and businesses to take part in practical action for nature in their communities.
www.biodiversitywales.org.uk/Vale-of-Glamorgan