Resilient green spaces: Greener corridors and spaces

Press release by Resilient Green Spaces 

Social Farms & Gardens, the charity supporting communities to farm, garden and grow together, is working with Gwynedd Council to support communities in the management of verges and other public green spaces (such as parts of community centre grounds or parks) as meadow habitat.  The aim of this is to empower communities to take control of their public green spaces so they are better connected for nature and people. The call-out is part of the ‘Greener Corridors and Spaces’ strand of their £1.27 million Resilient Green Spaces project.

On the verges outside towns and villages, Gwynedd Council have changed their cutting regime to follow  guidance by conservation specialists when it is practically possible and safe to do so. They are also cutting a ‘visibility strip’ of 1m more regularly – which makes the verges look cared for and is also important for safety. However, within towns and villages the cutting regime is different – cutting happens much more often to allow people to safely walk on the verges and because it looks tidier.  

Councillor Catrin Wager, Gwynedd Council Cabinet Member for Highways and Municipal matters said: “Protecting our county's special environment and species is so important. By changing the way we manage roadside growth, we can have a positive impact on biodiversity. Roadside verges can act as corridors of important habitats to support all types of creatures; from small mammals to bees and butterflies. The Council introduced positive changes to the way roadside verges are treated some years ago, and this project is a further step in our efforts to promote biodiversity on our roadsides.”

 There are some verges and other green spaces in communities that are suitable for managing for wildlife - and that’s where you come in!

Interested community sites or organisations based in Gwynedd can find further information on the Social Farms & Gardens website https://www.farmgarden.org.uk/resilient-green-spaces/greener-corridors-and-spaces,   or by contacting the workstream leads:

Social Farms & Gardens lead: sarah@farmgarden.org.uk 
Gwynedd Council lead: hywynwilliams@gwynedd.llyw.cymru

Resilient Green Spaces is a partnership project being led by Social Farms & Gardens to pilot alternative re-localised food systems using communities and their green spaces as a driving force for change across Wales until June 2023.  The project is funded through the Welsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Union. 

For more information about the wider Resilient Green Spaces project, and for other opportunities for communities as part of the project, please go to the Social Farms & Gardens website:
https://www.farmgarden.org.uk/resilient-green-spaces

This project has received funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.