School children help create a home for nature
Primary school pupils in Powys are helping to bring nature into their community.
The pupils of Llanbedr Church in Wales School took part in a competition to design signs for a new community nature garden alongside Wales & West Housing’s affordable rural housing development at St Peter’s Close.
The competition was organised by the Vale of Grwyney Community Council, which is leasing the land from WWH to create the garden.
The winning designs were unveiled by Kirsty Williams AM, WWH Group Chief Executive Anne Hinchey and David James, Rural Housing Enabler for Powys and Monmouthshire, at an official nature garden launch party on Friday June 28. The event was sponsored by WWH.
Eleri Smith and Ryan Griffiths, aged 8, and Daisy Deeble, aged 10, were each presented with a £10 prize and saw their winning designs take pride of place in the garden. All the school pupils who took part were also presented with WWH goodie bags.
The wildflower nature garden was created as part of WWH’s commitment to provide community facilities alongside its housing development at St Peter’s Close.
As well as providing eight eco-friendly affordable homes for local people to rent and buy, WWH worked with the community to create allotments and allocate land to the Vale of Grwyney Community Council to develop a nature garden.
The wildflower nature garden now boasts crab apple trees, a bug hotel, nesting boxes, a scramble log and benches where visitors of all ages can sit and watch the nature around them.
WWH’s Group Chief Executive Anne Hinchey said: “The garden is an excellent example of how humans and nature can live in harmony side by side. The school children and community councillors have worked hard to create these homes for birds, bugs and wildflowers, grasses and trees.
“It is a permanent reminder of our commitment to create quality, environmentally-friendly affordable homes for local people in the Llanbedr area.
“The homes we have built at St Peter’s Close have solar panels and air source heat pumps which help to keep energy-bills low for the residents and reduce carbon emissions to help the environment.
“I hope our residents, the neighbouring allotment holders and the wider community will enjoy the peace and tranquility of the nature garden for years to come.”
Anne Hinchey, WWH Group Chief Executive
Kirsty Williams AM added: “I am so pleased that the creation of St Peter’s Close Nature Garden has come to fruition. It’s wonderful to see so many different people coming together to make it happen, and I want to extend a particular congratulations to Llanbedr School and the pupils who made such excellent designs for the signs.”
“It’s wonderful to see so many different people coming together to make it happen.”
Kirsty Williams AM
David James, Rural Housing Enabler for Monmouthshire and Powys, said: “It’s fantastic to see this scheme come to fruition thanks to the commitment of Wales & West Housing and the enthusiasm of the Community Council. It shows what can happen with good partnership working.
“In a small rural village like Llanbedr a development such as this makes a massive contribution to the sustainability of the village, providing affordable homes that allow young local families to stay in the village and bring up their families in a safe environment.”
David James, Rural Housing Enabler for Monmouthshire and Powys