North Wales

Our Backyard

The project has been running since November 2017 and has achieved a lot since then:

  • A community steering group has been created involving local organisations and residents.
  • The Our Back Yard Champions volunteer group meet weekly and have contributed over 2500 volunteer hours to date.
  • Volunteers across the project have already collected over 500 bags of rubbish.
  • 5 Local Schools have explored and improved local green spaces.
  • 6 local green spaces have been improved by woodland management, access improvement and litter picks.
  • The project has worked in partnership with local organisations to host the first Quay Clean, cleaning 9 local green spaces.
  • 77 community and engagement events taken place in local green spaces.
  • 11 history and wildlife walks have taken place.
  • Local community members have contributed content for the Connah’s Quay I-Beacon trail to be launched in Summer 2019.

How the project came about:

Groundwork North Wales worked closely with key stakeholders to draw up a bid which included carrying out extensive consultation with the community to determine what was important to them about open spaces in the town. We included as many of these ideas as possible in the project plan. So a big ‘Thank You’ to everyone to the over 400 people who took part.

In August 2017, we were successful in securing nearly £650,000 for the five year Our Back Yard project. The project aims to increase people’s pride in their neighbourhood, to strengthen community cohesion, provide opportunities for people of all ages to be more active in the open air, increase learning and volunteering opportunities and create improved habitats for wildlife.

“Our Back Yard” is one of only 6 projects approved by Big Lottery Wales for this programme, out of more than sixty who originally applied.  If you’d like to know more about the whole programme, and the other communities who will be taking part in this programme go to www.createyourspace .wales. The Create Your Space programme is funded jointly by the Big Lottery Fund as well as Dormant Accounts money (Dormant Accounts funding comes from bank and building society accounts that have not been used in over 15 years). The Dormant Accounts money will be spent in line with directions issued by Welsh Ministers on its use for community based projects to tackle the causes and consequences of climate change.

For more information call Richard Aram, at Groundwork North Wales on 01978 757524.

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