News 2016
December - January
Christmas Tree Festival at All Saints Church
Along with 35 other local groups and organisations, Maes y Pant participated in the Christmas Tree Festival in All Saints Church which took place from 1 December until 7 December.
Well worth a visit, lots of effort went into decorating the trees and they looked splendid in the wonderful, atmospheric setting of All Saints. Our thanks to Joyce, Jenny and Gordon for their creative decorations! Proceeds of the event (£1200) were donated to Hope House and Nightingale House Hospices. |
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Tesco Bags of Help
We heard from Tesco this week that MyPAG gained most votes for our Childrens Woodland Activity Area project in store, which means we now have an additional £4,000 towards our projects - £12,000 in total.
So, very many thanks to everyone who voted for our proposal!
We can't wait to get started with building the woodland activity area, and we hope to add monkey bars for the woodland gym. And more signage if the funds stretch far enough.
Work is most likely to start after the next phase of Corsican Pine tree clearance early in 2017.
So, very many thanks to everyone who voted for our proposal!
We can't wait to get started with building the woodland activity area, and we hope to add monkey bars for the woodland gym. And more signage if the funds stretch far enough.
Work is most likely to start after the next phase of Corsican Pine tree clearance early in 2017.
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We need your help.
Tesco has teamed up with Groundwork on its Bags of Help initiative in hundreds of regions across England and Wales. The scheme will see three community groups and projects in each of these regions awarded grants of £12,000, £10,000 and £8,000 – all raised from the 5p bag charge. MyPAG has been chosen as one of these 3 groups in our region and we would ask you to vote for us. The more votes we get, the more chance we have of the higher sums. The money will be used to develop a woodland activity area for children and if we have enough money then set of monkey bars for the gym and some extra signage.
Bags of Help offers community groups and projects in each of Tesco’s 416 regions across the UK a share of revenue generated from the 5p charge levied on single-use carrier bags. You will be able to vote in store from 31st October – 13th November on who should receive the £12,000, £10,000 and £8,000 awards. In total, there is over £12.5 million up for grabs.
Tesco has teamed up with Groundwork on its Bags of Help initiative in hundreds of regions across England and Wales. The scheme will see three community groups and projects in each of these regions awarded grants of £12,000, £10,000 and £8,000 – all raised from the 5p bag charge. MyPAG has been chosen as one of these 3 groups in our region and we would ask you to vote for us. The more votes we get, the more chance we have of the higher sums. The money will be used to develop a woodland activity area for children and if we have enough money then set of monkey bars for the gym and some extra signage.
Bags of Help offers community groups and projects in each of Tesco’s 416 regions across the UK a share of revenue generated from the 5p charge levied on single-use carrier bags. You will be able to vote in store from 31st October – 13th November on who should receive the £12,000, £10,000 and £8,000 awards. In total, there is over £12.5 million up for grabs.
Gresford Summer Festival
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MyPAG had a good presence at the popular Gresford Summer Festival on Sunday, September 11th 2016. Congratulations to the organisers from the Gresford Trust for a very successful day. Plenty of residents and others turned up to support the event and the warm sunny weather encouraged a good turnout.
We were very pleased to meet a number of old friends who popped over to our stand to say hello and have a go at our Tombola or the Treasure hunt for children. Even so, the plant stall attracted a lot of new acquaintances as well.
Overall we made £135.21 plus a further £16 donated by MyPAG member, Kim Patel, who was running a dog agility show at the Festival.
Thanks to all who contributed and in particular to Sue Kelly for her work behind the scenes. Sue can be seen working on the stall with 2 other MyPAG members, John Troth and Robin Thomas (who is selling hard).
We were very pleased to meet a number of old friends who popped over to our stand to say hello and have a go at our Tombola or the Treasure hunt for children. Even so, the plant stall attracted a lot of new acquaintances as well.
Overall we made £135.21 plus a further £16 donated by MyPAG member, Kim Patel, who was running a dog agility show at the Festival.
Thanks to all who contributed and in particular to Sue Kelly for her work behind the scenes. Sue can be seen working on the stall with 2 other MyPAG members, John Troth and Robin Thomas (who is selling hard).
Wrexham's Green Spaces Project
MyPAG has joined forces with other groups responsible for parks and green spaces in the Wrexham area to develop an exciting project to deliver improvements and take forward new ideas for the green spaces in Wrexham. We want people to want to come to our sites in Wrexham and enjoy them. If successful the project will be funded by the 'Create Your Spaces' initiative of the Big Lottery Fund.
A statement from the project said 'The development of this project has been led by volunteers from seven of Wrexham’s Friends Groups, (Friends of Ty Mawr, Nant Mill, Bellevue, Alyn Waters, Moss Valley, Ponciau Bank and Acton Park) in addition to a community woodland group Maes y Pant Action Group (MyPAG), North Wales Wildlife Trust (re Marford Quarry) and Keep Wales Tidy.
Our aspiration is to pool our resources and collectively engage with the wider community, especially those that, for whatever reason, have not traditionally engaged with their green spaces. We want our project to make it easier for all to access these public spaces– to make each open space their open space.
The project has successfully reached Stage 2 of the Big Lottery Fund process. Over 50 bids have now been reduced to 16 across the whole of Wales and the Wrexham Green Spaces project is one of those. The lead group, Keep Wales Tidy, has now received £20,000 to enable us develop the project to provide a detailed bid. Our completed bid must be submitted by 7 December 2016. Only 8 of the projects will be successful.'
So far, for Maes y Pant we have identified the following:
To help us understand what people in the Wrexham area would like then we are asking you to tell us by completing a very simple questionnaire.
The best way to do this is to go to www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/YS66CNQ (English) or www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/2QZGLSK (Cymraeg).
It takes less than 5 minutes.
A statement from the project said 'The development of this project has been led by volunteers from seven of Wrexham’s Friends Groups, (Friends of Ty Mawr, Nant Mill, Bellevue, Alyn Waters, Moss Valley, Ponciau Bank and Acton Park) in addition to a community woodland group Maes y Pant Action Group (MyPAG), North Wales Wildlife Trust (re Marford Quarry) and Keep Wales Tidy.
Our aspiration is to pool our resources and collectively engage with the wider community, especially those that, for whatever reason, have not traditionally engaged with their green spaces. We want our project to make it easier for all to access these public spaces– to make each open space their open space.
The project has successfully reached Stage 2 of the Big Lottery Fund process. Over 50 bids have now been reduced to 16 across the whole of Wales and the Wrexham Green Spaces project is one of those. The lead group, Keep Wales Tidy, has now received £20,000 to enable us develop the project to provide a detailed bid. Our completed bid must be submitted by 7 December 2016. Only 8 of the projects will be successful.'
So far, for Maes y Pant we have identified the following:
- Re-planting clear felled areas with native broad-leafed trees
- Resurfacing footpaths (we would have up to 7 years to carry this out)
- Handrails for steps
- New large container
- Lay on water to main entrance area
To help us understand what people in the Wrexham area would like then we are asking you to tell us by completing a very simple questionnaire.
The best way to do this is to go to www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/YS66CNQ (English) or www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/2QZGLSK (Cymraeg).
It takes less than 5 minutes.
Woodland Trail
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More exciting news, we now have a woodland trail starting from the main entrance in Pant Lane and following the all abilities path in a figure of 8 and back to the entrance again. There are 20 plaques hidden (most are not that hidden) in the trees of 20 woodland creatures or plants that you could see in
Maes y Pant. To help, you we've drawn a map of the route and where you should see a plaque and you can see this below. Here are a couple of pictures of plaques and the situation you might find them in.
We've also given you a clue as to where 2 or 3 are. Happy hunting. Well done to Ed Fleming, whose plaque designs won our art competition during summer 2015 and to his parents, Mark and Monica, who helped produce and install the plaques.
Many thanks to all 3. |
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Full list is: Badger, Bat, Bee, Butterfly, Fly Agaric (a type of fungus), Frog, Fox, Hedgehog, Ladybird, Millipede, Newt, Oak Leaves,
Owl, Rabbit, Red Kite, Robin, Snake, Spider, Toadstools and Woodpecker.
Owl, Rabbit, Red Kite, Robin, Snake, Spider, Toadstools and Woodpecker.
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Gwyddion Has Arrived
Prince Gwyddion, son of Don, is a hero, trickster and magician in Welsh mythology. He's come to stay at Maes y Pant in his wizard form. His name means 'Of the woods' or 'From the woods' and you'll see what it means when you meet him. His wizardry has meant his name has confounded us whether it has one or 2 'd's or an 'e' instead of an 'o' but he's not complaining - he's here to stay!
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Green Flag Award
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Maes y Pant has been awarded prestigious 'Green Flag' status, in recognition of the success of the project in terms of Welcome; Health and Safety; Cleanliness; Sustainability; Conservation; Community Involvement; and Achievements since the project started six years ago. Maes y Pant is one of the very few community owned and managed sites throughout the UK to have achieved this status, and the success is in large part due to the efforts and hard work of all the volunteers who give freely and generously of their time and energy in order to make Maes y Pant a place for relaxation, and enjoyment for the whole community.
Our thanks to all our volunteers for helping us to achieve this status. |
Projects in the Arboretum Area
Back in May, world champion tree-carver Simon O'Rourke came on site to reduce the stump of a tree near Whiteway Drive entrance to Maes-y-Pant, that blew down in storms around 12 years ago. The intention was to leave around 10 feet into which Simon was to carve a wizard. Unfortunately on the day, it was discovered that the stump was diseased therefore unsuitable for the purpose. This week the alternative scheme takes place, and this sees Simon carving a wizard in his workshop, and the carving will be secured to a stump in the arboretum on 14th or 15th July depending on weather conditions. The wizard has been named 'Gwydion', which translates as 'born of trees' which seems a very appropriate name we think. Funding towards the cost of this project has been provided by the Community Foundation in Wales, and came via the Asda carrier bag fund.
We hope to have the clay plaques designed by Edward Fleming displayed in the arboretum very soon. Edward was a winner in our Young People's art and design competition last summer, and his designs of 20 plaques depicting wildlife that can be found in
Maes-y-Pant have been cast ready to be hung in the trees to form a trail.
So - some changes to the area, which we think will enhance your enjoyment!
Once the projects are in place, do please let us know what you think.
We hope to have the clay plaques designed by Edward Fleming displayed in the arboretum very soon. Edward was a winner in our Young People's art and design competition last summer, and his designs of 20 plaques depicting wildlife that can be found in
Maes-y-Pant have been cast ready to be hung in the trees to form a trail.
So - some changes to the area, which we think will enhance your enjoyment!
Once the projects are in place, do please let us know what you think.
Plant Sale and Coffee Morning
Please come along and join us for our annual fund-raising event on Saturday 21st May
in Church House, Gresford (LL12 8RG) . Admission £2, accompanied children free. Tea, coffee, juice, scones, teacakes, biscuits included. There will be (as you would expect!) a plant stall: also cake stall, bring and buy stall, and a raffle.
Proceeds for benefit of Maes-y-Pant projects and running costs.
- Thanks to everyone for your support - we raised almost £400 for Maes y Pant funds!
in Church House, Gresford (LL12 8RG) . Admission £2, accompanied children free. Tea, coffee, juice, scones, teacakes, biscuits included. There will be (as you would expect!) a plant stall: also cake stall, bring and buy stall, and a raffle.
Proceeds for benefit of Maes-y-Pant projects and running costs.
- Thanks to everyone for your support - we raised almost £400 for Maes y Pant funds!
Friends of MyPAG 3rd Annual Meeting
A reminder that we have our 3rd annual Friends meeting on Monday 11 April, to be held at Church House, Gresford at 7.30pm. This is an opportunity to join the Friends and hear about future plans as well as giving us your ideas about what you think we should be doing which will benefit the community.
Horse Logging
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On Saturday, 9 April, we have some horse logging from 9 am and continuing all day. A number of pines by the pond are being taken down and we have hired Ecological Land Management (ELM) to use 2 working horses to pull the trunks from there to near the main entrance. A mighty effort up the slope from the old quarry base. ELM is a conservation and wildlife protection company based in Llay and did a great job for us when they built our pond. It will be fantastic to see these working horses in action. Please come and see them and enjoy traditional skills. |
Planting Saplings
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We had a very productive morning at our volunteers’ meeting on January 10. Nine volunteers started the morning clearing the ground in our arboretum area, where we plant non native trees. The idea was to plant 50 saplings. Two young helpers joined us, who made sure they were going to help by planting a sapling each. The saplings had been supplied free by Ovo Energy through The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) organisation. 40 saplings were planted in the arboretum, which were berrying shrubs such as spindleberry, guilder rose, wayfaring tree and dogwood to encourage more visits by birds. We were also able to plant 10 goat willow in one of the clearings within the site as part of our plan to replace the conifers with native trees over a number of years.
If you would like to join our volunteers group then we meet every 2nd Sunday of each month at the main entrance on Pant Lane, Gresford at 10am. We’d be pleased to see you and you may even get a free slice of cake as well as coffee. The meeting next month is on Valentine’s Day (no significance). The following meeting will be on March 13 when we’d like as much support as we can get as we have 420 saplings to plant. |
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This is Sam Dale, aged 5, who helped us plant a tree, although he didn't think trees could be so small!
Good job, Sam. This is Joe Dale, aged 3.
He had to do what his brother did and another tree was planted. Well done, Joe. |
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Llais y Goedwig VisitMaes y Pant welcomed staff members of Llais y Goedwig (LyG), which is a community woodland network for Wales, on a site visit on 26 February 2016. With Stanley, our quarryman, are (from L to R) Shane Hughes, Keep Wales Tidy; Maria Wilding, LyG Communications & Development Officer; Joyce Ashley MyPAG, Andrew Bailey MyPAG, Mike Edwards MyPAG, Jane Gronow LyG volunteer and Sara Wynne-Parri, LyG Capacity Building Officer N Wales. We were able to spend an enjoyable 90 minutes showing our visitors around the site and describing our history as well as outlining our plans for the future. Welsh Government core funding has now enabled LyG to take on 4 new part-time staff, including Maria and Sara, to help provide better support to community woodlands in Wales. Keep Wales Tidy have been very supportive to MyPAG in funding and advising on various project. |
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