Are you interested in the traditional craft of hedgelaying?
Check out this clip that goes behind the scenes at recent hedgelaying carried out at Rhuddlan Nature Reserve.
Denbigh pupils step up to help local biodiversity flourish
Denbigh primary pupils have boosted the future biodiversity of a local wildflower meadow.
Ysgol Y Parc pupils rolled up their sleeves to help with plug planting wildflowers at the Parc Alafowlia meadow.
Nearly 50 year two pupils spent the morning with the Council’s Biodiversity team and other volunteers, helping to enhance the current site with nearly 1,700 plants grown at the Council’s Tree Nursery at St Asaph.
The Council’s Wildflower Meadows Project, funded by Welsh Government through the Local Places for Nature grant, started in 2019 and has seen over 10,000 individual plants recorded across all sites involved so far.
The Council’s Biodiversity team is working with community groups and volunteers across the county to plug plant at meadows.
Plug planting more flowers will help create more colourful, diverse meadows and better biodiversity support for our local nature and communities.
The Denbigh meadow has already taken part in a successful scheme to introduce yellow rattle which has reduced grass length on the site allowing existing plants to thrive stronger.
Extra wildflowers planted by the pupils will mean more food on the meadow for bees and other pollinators which support our own food chain. More wildflowers will also better support local nature by providing more insect food for animals such as birds to feed on, providing a stronger wildlife area for the surrounding community to enjoy.
Evie Challinor, Biodiversity Officer, said: “It was brilliant working with the pupils at the meadow to get these wildflowers into the ground. They were so enthusiastic to help us help the local nature improve and I really hope they come back to visit the site and see the growth of the site next season.”
Councillor Barry Mellor, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, and Biodiversity Champion said: “I am really, really proud of how the Ysgol Y Parc pupils have stepped up to give a valuable helping hand to the local nature that’s on their own doorstep.
“Our ecosystems across Wales and wider are sadly in decline and its so important to halt this and try and give our children and grandchildren a chance to experience and support wildlife and nature in their future lives…they should not lose what we have right now.
“Its heart-warming to see these pupils dig deep to be aware of the current help our nature needs and I hope they themselves will be proud of the work they have done when they visit the site in years to come.”
Improving Denbighshire Tree Canopy Cover
Work is ongoing behind the scenes to address the climate challenge of improving the county’s tree canopy cover.
Event helps pave stronger collaboration to address climate change
A public event at Denbigh has helped drive fresh ideas forward for tackling county Climate change issues. Over 50 people attended the Council’s Climate & Ecological Change Strategy Review event at Denbigh Town Hall.
The Council is currently refreshing its plans to address the climate and nature emergency declared in 2019 and reduce its own carbon footprint.
County stakeholders shared their views of how the Council can work with and also support communities to bring about carbon reduction, sequestration, climate resilience and nature recovery across Denbighshire.
The interactive event was facilitated by Dr Alan Netherwood from Netherwood Sustainable Futures and Dafydd Thomas from The Wellbeing Planner.
Representatives from Denbighshire Friends of the Earth, Ruthin Repair Café, Denbigh Town Council, Prestatyn Town Council, The Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Extinction Rebellion, Natural Resources Wales, Elwy Working Wood, Nercwys Community Council, Denbighshire County Council and Welsh Government were among those who attended the event.
Themes discussed, for moving forward initiatives in the county to tackle climate change and protect nature, included increasing collaboration between the Council and other stakeholders to allow more sharing of skills to support local initiatives get off the ground and communities and public sector bodies working together to tackle climate and nature issues that are present right now and to adapt to future problems that are likely to arise.
Councillor Barry Mellor, Lead Member for Environment and Transport said: “I was present at the event and it was really good to hear such an in depth conversation on how we can move forward by working with communities across Denbighshire to tackle the climate and nature emergency.
“We are really grateful for the feedback we had during this event and also through other channels for addressing these important issues as the Council is keen to listen to residents, groups and communities across the county so we can collectively tackle climate change together to better support Denbighshire’s future generations.”
Information from this event will feed into the refresh of the Council’s Climate & Ecological Change Strategy which will guide the Council’s work on climate action and nature recovery up to 2030.
You can also stay up to date on our climate and nature recovery work by signing up to our mailing list.
Community hub for all ages gets energy efficiency help
The Council’s Energy Team has helped a community hub become more energy efficient.
Work with the support of Council staff has taken place at Ysgol Dyffryn Iâl to reduce energy usage and costs for the pupils and community that use the school and memorial hall.
The Council’s Energy Team are working on a number of projects to improve building energy efficiency and support the reduction of running costs over the long term in the Council’s non-domestic building estate which is responsible for over 60 percent of Council carbon emissions.
Energy team staff are currently working to improve the efficiency and building environment for the school area with the finished installation of a 4kw PV solar array on the roof to provide renewable electricity. LED lighting and an air source heat pump to provide hot water will be introduced on site in the new year which will further lower energy usage and costs.
A funding grant was also secured by the local community for the Memorial Hall on site at the school to undergo energy efficiency work for the building which is used by residents of all ages.
Knowing the community was invested in improving the important village hub, the Council’s Energy Team helped them to secure a best fit system to make sure the buildings energy use and costs reduced.
Robert Jones, Principal Energy Manager said: “While we were working on Ysgol Dyffryn Iâl, we were made aware of plans for the Memorial Hall by the community which is on the same site.
"We had a look at what was proposed and advised them to modify the specification to install an 18kw solar PV system with an 11kw battery which will help them store excess energy generated by the sun to support the running of the building more efficiently and reduce carbon emissions.”
Councillor Barry Mellor, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, said: “We are committed to reducing our carbon emissions and energy usage across all our buildings by carrying out projects that will also see costs reduce in the long term.
“Our energy team do a lot of work across communities at school and I’m really grateful for them for stepping up to help this important community hub receive the most appropriate energy efficiency work.”
All I want for Christmas is ..........
Christmas is a time for family, friends and fun but it can also put a strain the environment. As we all start planning for the big day and picking out gifts for our nearest and dearest it’s a good time to keep the environment in mind.
There are many benefits to acting sustainably and some small simple changes to your festive period could make a big difference to tackling climate change and ensuring we protect our planet for generations to come. Together we can make this Christmas our most eco-friendly yet!
When all you want is an Eco-friendly Christmas the Climate Change Team have got you covered! Here are our festive top tips:
“Rocking Around the Sustainable Christmas Tree……..”
- If you haven’t got an artificial tree already, avoid plastic. Real Christmas trees are much more sustainable than artificial alternatives. One study concluded you’d need to use a fake tree for 20 years for it to be greener.
- That said, don’t forget to recycle your real tree after the Christmas period. Around seven million real trees are likely to be dumped in January! If you have a green waste collection the council will collect your tree and recycle it for you, but don’t worry if you don’t. You can book to take your tree to the green waste at your local Waste depot, or alternatively chop it up and stack the wood in your garden for the birds and insects to enjoy.
- Make sure your real tree comes from a sustainable local seller who is contributing to your local area.
“On The First Day of Christmas My True Love Sent to Me, a Wildflower Seed Christmas Card”
- An unbelievable 1.5 billion Christmas cards are thought to be thrown away by UK households each year (which is approximately 33 million trees). Why not send friends and family an e-card this year instead. Alternatively, look out for plantable Christmas cards that the recipient can sow in Spring and enjoy the added bonus of vegetables or wildflowers in their garden next year.
- Disposable advent calendars contain high levels of plastic and very little chocolate. A reusable calendar lets you add treats of your own choice and can be used every Christmas.
“Santa Claus is Coming to Town”
- Buying presents you know people will enjoy and get long lasting use out of might seem obvious, but cutting out the novelty presents that don’t last beyond Christmas week really could save on waste!
- Look for eco-friendly gifts and stockists. Perhaps buy a reusable bottle, adopt an animal, purchase a membership for the RSPB or Wildlife Trust or source sustainably produced, ‘green’ certified gifts such as ethical clothing, footwear, toiletries and many others.
- Shop locally! Support the independent shops in your local area and reduce your carbon footprint at the same time.
- Have a crafty Christmas. Homemade gifts are always gratefully received and treasured. A natural Christmas wreath, edible treat or homemade Advent calendar to enjoy for Christmases to come are all some low carbon ideas.
- Try wrapping gifts with recycled paper or in colourful fabric that can be reused - this could be a gift in itself, as well as looking beautiful!
“Now Bring us Some Figgy Pudding …….”
- Try and buy only what you know you will eat and choose items which are light on packaging. If you do have leftovers, they can be transformed into meals for another day to save money and cut waste. Some tips on how to shop and cook sustainably can be found here https://food-drink.wales/ .
- Do you have a vegan on the guest list? Don’t panic, there are lots of tasty vegan recipes available online. Why not try some out as an occasional alternative?
- Try to buy meat products from local butchers or direct from your local farmer to cut down on the miles your meat travels and support local businesses.
- Certain labels can show the food standards and sustainability of food purchases.
- The red tractor – Certifies British Food Production Standards
- LEAF Marque – shows that products have come from farmers who are focusing on sustainable farming methods.
- Fairtrade – tackles injustice by making sure disadvantaged farmers in the global south are given fair prices for their products.
- Organic – you can be sure that the farmer is following a strict set of rules and guidelines in their food production.
“That’s the Jingle Bell Rock”
- A new outfit for the work Christmas Do can seem super glam but fast fashion contributes to 8-10% of global carbon emissions. Why not arrange a clothes swap with friends or shop pre-used, for example, from local charity shops or online second hand marketplaces, such as Vinted? If you decide to buy new clothes, stick to stores that are open about how and where their items are produced.
Merry Eco-Christmas and a Sustainable New Year to you all!
Ruthin meadow caps off season with a new guest
Management of a Ruthin Wildflower meadow has capped off the perfect environment for a new resident.
The Council’s Biodiversity team has discovered new additions at the end of the 2023 season to the wildflower meadow at Stryd y Brython.
The Council’s Wildflower Meadows Project, funded by Welsh Government through the Local Places for Nature grant, started in 2019 and has seen over 10,000 individual plants recorded across all sites involved so far.
Stryd y Brython is one of the project’s older sites which has allowed time for plants to mature and grow through the management and monitoring of the officers involved with the project.
Early this year, in the habitat created at the meadow, tawny mining bees were discovered nesting on the site.
Now the site has had several waxcap fungi appear on it, blackening waxcap, parrot waxcap and snowy waxcap.
Waxcaps are a declining species due to their preference for growing on unimproved pastures and grasslands that have not been agriculturally improved. They are a familiar-shaped fungi that are mostly brightly coloured and sometimes have a waxy or slippery-looking cap.
The management of the Council’s meadows is aimed at bringing back suitable habitat land lost over the years to support local nature and the wellbeing of surrounding communities by giving better support to under pressure species to survive into the future.
Liam Blazey, Biodiversity Officer said: “This has been really great to see as it shows that the management we are undertaking is not only improving floral diversity but soil biodiversity too.
"Waxcap are really special fungi and we are very excited to see them turning up on one of our sites.”
Councillor Barry Mellor, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, and Biodiversity Champion, said: “The meadows our Streetscene and Biodiversity teams create take time to grow and mature into a habitat that will provide strong support for local nature. Stryd y Brython is such a positive example of what we are aiming to do and give to the community with all of our sites.
“This latest discovery on the site, alongside its flourishing growth of wildflowers and the tawny mining bees, is a strong indication that the team’s meadow management is giving under threat species a second chance to thrive as they did before amongst our many county communities.”
Residents can help support the Waxcap species by taking part in Plantlife’s Waxcap Watch survey.
Prestatyn pupils plant future growth for community meadow
Prestatyn pupils have planted a stronger future for a community wildflower habitat.
Ysgol Bodnant pupils joined the Council’s Biodiversity team to help enhance the meadow next to Bastion Gardens by planting nearly 4000 wildflowers on site.
Over 30 Year 2 pupils spent the afternoon with Council staff, adding the extra plants to the site and learning about the importance of safeguarding local nature for the future.
The Council’s Wildflower Meadows Project, funded by Welsh Government through the Local Places for Nature grant, started in 2019 and has seen over 10,000 individual plants recorded across all sites involved so far.
A programme of enhancement across county wildflower meadows has been carried out to support the creation of more colourful, and biodiverse areas for local nature and communities to enjoy.
This project is working to help address the UK loss of 97 percent of wildflower meadows, equalling near 7.5 million acres of habitats lost for important pollinators such as bees and butterflies.
Without this habitat, support for insects, nature’s pollinators would be less, impacting on our own food chain.
The soils of wildflower meadows can also sequester as much carbon as woodlands, reducing greenhouse gases to help tackle climate change.
Wildflower meadow areas provide benefits for everybody, not just nature, with other community benefits including improved air quality, helping to reduce urban flooding, providing urban heat cooling, physical and mental wellbeing and areas of mixed interest for education and play.
Councillor Barry Mellor, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, and Biodiversity Champion, said: “It is important to note that these wildflower meadows are for everyone to enjoy and that they help to create connected corridors for nature across our urban areas such as this fantastic location in Prestatyn.
“We know lots of our schools follow this project and do get involved on their own sites in creating wonderful green areas.
"I’m really grateful to the Ysgol Bodnant pupils for lending their fantastic support for helping to grow this meadow into a great area for community well-being and local nature growth.
"These meadows are for the equal wellbeing of residents and wildlife to both enjoy now, and most importantly, for our future generations in the shape of our county pupils who are helping grow them.”
Rhyl students shape new bee friendly support
Rhyl students have rolled up their sleeves to give a green helping hand to local nature.
The Council’s Biodiversity team recently joined Ysgol Tir Morfa Post 16 students to help them create a new bee friendly wildflower area on the grounds of their Grange Road site.
The students with the support of their teachers have already created a busy horticultural area outside of their school, by growing vegetables, perennial flowers and also fruit trees.
Now they have gained Bee Friendly status at the site by developing a wildflower area with the help of the Council’s Biodiversity team.
The Welsh Government’s Bee Friendly scheme aims to support the recovery of bees and other pollinators.
All the wildflowers planted by the students will help create a more colourful, diverse and stronger biodiversity around the grounds for local nature, students and staff to enjoy.
Biodiversity Officer Ellie Wainwright said: “I’m glad we were able to engage the students in the creation of this Bee Friendly area on their school grounds, they seemed to really enjoy the day planting and will get to see the area change and develop over the next few years.
"I believe it’s really important to create these habitats within schools, both to support populations of pollinators and other wildlife across our urban areas, and for the mental health benefits this will offer to the students – as little as five minutes of contact with nature has been shown to improve mental wellbeing.
"I would like to encourage other schools to get in touch with us if they would like to apply for bee friendly status or for advice on how to increase biodiversity in their school grounds.”
Pupils from the group who worked on the wildflower area said: “We worked hard today but the time passed really quickly because it was fun being outdoors and learning about the garden.
"We learned that the wildflowers don’t like to have nutrients in the soil and that hopefully the flowers will invite bees and butterflies into the garden.
"We’re really proud of the work that we have done and enjoy spending time in the garden and knowing it’s good for the environment.”
Teacher Sara Griffiths said: “Having this support to plant a wildflower garden has been such a great opportunity for our pupils to learn about biodiversity, pollinators and creating a calm space.
"We all really enjoyed creating the wildflower garden and are now looking forward to watching the flowers grow, seeing the pollinators and managing the area.”
Councillor Barry Mellor, Lead Member for Environment and Transport and Biodiversity Champion said: “This is fantastic work by the students, their efforts will really help nature grow around the school grounds.
"They have created a brilliant biodiversity area which will support nature coming back into the local area and also give them something to be really proud of when seeing it grow and thrive."
EV power drives help to support quality of living
Electric power is boosting a service designed to help people of all ages live their lives to the fullest.
The Council’s Equipment Service has taken delivery of two Fiat e-Doblo electric vans. The service provides equipment to Social Services and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board for people in Denbighshire to help them maintain their health and independence.
These items can range from simple aids for daily living to more complex equipment that support people to stay at home for longer. Items the service can provide include raised toilet seats, toilet frames, shower chairs, perching stools, kitchen trolleys, commodes and shower stools. The new electric powered vehicles will be used to transport the equipment to provide support to residents across Denbighshire to carry on with their daily lives. They have been introduced by the Council’s Fleet department to appropriately replace older diesel vehicles that have come to the end of their lifespan. The two vans will have less impact on the environment with zero tailpipe emissions and in the long term, they will be more cost effective to maintain than fossil fuel powered vehicles.
Councillor Barry Mellor, Lead Member for Environment and Transport said: “The Council is working very hard to reduce our fleet’s carbon footprint by replacing fossil fuel powered vehicles with greener alternative vehicles if appropriate for the service’s transportation needs.
“It’s great the service is running these vehicles now as it will ultimately see their carbon emissions reduce with the important mileage they do to move this vital equipment around the county.”