An acorn of an idea to transform a rundown area of Blaenau Gwent Council’s Business Resource Centre into a garden has grown into a sustainable schools project which has attracted a prize of £10,000 from the Welsh Government.
Owain Carter and Cedri Jones, schools project coordinators at the Council’s Tredegar Training Centre worked with young people from the Communities First Tools 4Ur Future project to transform the unused land in Tredegar into a garden and allotment area.
The group then decided they could use their new skills to roll out the project across schools in the county borough – offering to help with making allotments and wildlife gardens to assistance with waste and recycling. The group will also be able to build bird and bat boxes and hedgehog homes in the joinery workshop at the Council’s Training Centre.
The project aims to promote the importance of sustainable living – providing school pupils with a good foundation to be environmentally friendly now and in their future lives.
The young people presented their project idea – ‘Food 4Ur Future’ – to the Green Dragon’s Den panel at the Hay on Earth Festival 2011. They were one of only four groups to walk away with £10,000 funding from the Welsh Government.
Owain Carter says: “We can’t wait to get into schools and start helping them to set up similar projects. We will also be providing ongoing support to help them maintain and develop their gardens further.”
All materials and equipment used in the project will be sourced from sustainable businesses and suppliers from within Blaenau Gwent.
For further information about the project please contact The Business Recourse Centre on 01495358850.
