Keep Wales Tidy, the national charity working across Wales to protect our environment for now and for the future, has today awarded The Parish Trust Community Garden with a Green Flag Award.
265 parks and green spaces in Wales have received the prestigious Green Flag Award and Green Flag Community Award this year. They include a diverse range of sites, from country parks and formal gardens, to allotments, woodlands and churchyards.
Now in its third decade, the international Green Flag Award is a sign to the public that a park or green space boasts the highest possible environmental standards, is beautifully maintained and has excellent visitor facilities.
The Parish Trust Community Garden came from a vision to transform the rear of the land occupied by The Parish Trust into a place where people can sit, relax, work, and meet whilst working on improving mental health and wellbeing and connecting more with nature on a day-to-day basis.
The Community Garden has been developed and transformed by a number of volunteers from all ages and stages of life, with Adrian Clarke being one major volunteer who has not only worked hard on the development of the site, but who has found it to be beneficial for his own mental health recovery.
Julie James, Welsh Government Minister for Climate Change said,
Our local green spaces have a vital role to play in connecting us to nature. These awards go to prove that Wales’ parks and similar areas are doing a wonderful job in providing quality places to relax and enjoy. The standard required to achieve Green Flag status is very high so I want to congratulate all of the sites recognised for providing excellent, year-round facilities to local people and visitors alike. It’s fantastic to see we still hold more than a third of the UK’s Green Flag community sites in Wales – especially as the last two years have taught us all of the importance of nature and green spaces on our mental and physical wellbeing.
The Parish Trust Community Garden is open to anyone to visit and use during opening hours. There is also the opportunity to be involved in the maintenance of the garden through volunteering with the charity.
The Parish Trust is also home to a Keep Wales Tidy Litter Picking Hub. Members of the General Public can loan litter picking equipment from The Parish Trust for free to go out litter picking as part of a national effort to keep Wales’ spaces clean and tidy.
