News 2018

December - January 

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Christmas Trees at All Saints Church

MyPAG entered a decorated Christmas Tree into the competition held at Gresford Parish Church. Excellent work  by MyPAG directors Jenny Adams and Joyce Ashley with help from Gordon Adams, as you can see from the above photo, No prizes this time though, as the standard was very high and the competition very keen from the 44 entries.
​Well done to the Scouts for their winning entry. With 44 trees shining away, the Parish church looked beautiful inside, so I couldn't resist taking some general photos  which I'm including here as well.

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Children's Activities

Two of MyPAG's directors, Mike Thomas and Rebecca Hennessey,  take some of the children in the post-school group run by Beryl Blackmore at the Rofft School, down to the Maes y Pant site for one evening a week. Mike and Rebecca run events to help identify wildlife on site and help the children get involved with natural history as well as learning learn basic craft skills from the material found in our woods. You can see some of the children's latest work in these pictures. Fantastic. Well done to the children and a big thank you to Rebecca and Mike. Mike even takes time off his regular work to help run these sessions. They'll be taking a few weeks off now that the winter nights have drawn in.

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Gresford Scarecrow Trail

The Gresford Scarecrow Trail is now becoming a tradition. I think we can say that, now it's in its third year. The theme this year is 'Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhyme Characters'.

This is the first year that MyPAG has decided to enter, thanks to the efforts of Gail Caswell-Jones and her family. Can you guess who it is from the photo? It does have a  Disney fairy tale twist. A very handsome effort, Gail. The trail starts on 18 August and lasts until the 1 September. All the scarecrows will then be brought together for a Scarecrow Tea in Allington Park, High Street at 2pm, Saturday 8 September. For further information please visit the Gresford Community site on www.gresford.org.uk.
We've decided not to keep our scarecrow at Maes y Pant but you can see him just up the road in Pant Lane on the opposite side of the road to Quarry Brow. We hope you have fun on the trail.

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I love the Love-Spoon

We have a new carving at Maes y Pant. One of two remaining 2m stumps left after we cleared an area of Corsican pines has now been carved into a giant love-spoon. This has been thanks to the skill of Wayne Crumpton, who lives in Lymm, Cheshire. The new carving is close to the children's play area. Wayne has donated his own time to make this creation. Although Wayne denies it, the mask on the back I'm told bears a passing resemblance to the chairman of MyPAG! I wonder; I can't be that ugly. Below are some photos of Wayne at work and the finished article.

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Maes y Pant achieves coveted Green Flag Award again

Keep Wales Tidy has unveiled this year’s Green Flag Award winners – the international mark of a quality park or green space. 
In total, 112 community managed green spaces in Wales have met the high standard needed to receive the prestigious Green Flag Community Award (101 in 2017/18). These sites rely on volunteers to maintain their excellent facilities. Maes y Pant has received this in recognition of its excellent facilities and commitment to delivering great quality green space. We are very pleased to receive this for a third consecutive year.
​It’s a reward for a lot of hard work in maintaining the site over the last 12 months. As a reminder, we hold monthly volunteers’ mornings that are held every 2nd Sunday of the month (meet at the main entrance at 10am). ​If you wish to become a supporter and join the Friends of Maes y Pant for as little as £10/year then an application form can be downloaded from our website.
The Green Flag Award programme is delivered in Wales by environmental charity, Keep Wales Tidy, with support from Welsh Government. It is judged by green space experts, who volunteer their time to visit applicant sites and assess them against eight strict criteria, including horticultural standards, cleanliness, environmental management and community involvement.

Lucy Prisk, Green Flag Coordinator at Keep Wales Tidy

 said: “We’re delighted to be celebrating another record-breaking year for the Green Flag Awards in Wales. All the flags flying at community sites are a testament to the dedication and enthusiasm of local volunteers who work tirelessly to raise the standard of our green spaces. 
“I’d encourage everyone to get outdoors this summer and enjoy the fantastic facilities we have on our doorstep.”
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Further update - photo of chairman, Trevor Britton receiving a plaque from Lesley Jones, Chief Exective of Keep Wales Tidy, as part of the Green Flag award for 2018. The Awards ceremony was held at Bodlondeb, Conwy on 9 August,

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Thank you MBNA    

Thanks to Matt Perrins and the Finance team at MBNA, Chester, who visited Maes y Pant on Tuesday 12 June to help clear litter from the site. This was part of a continuing initiative by MBNA to help local community and charity organisations.
The fantastic weather helped, and we hope they will visit us again.

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Coffee Morning and Plant Sale

Please come along and support Maes y Pant’s Plant Sale and Coffee Morning which is being held on Saturday 5th May in Church House, Gresford. 
There will be plants, cakes, books and a bring and buy stall as well as a raffle. The event runs from 10.00 - noon. 
Admission is £2 (accompanied children free) and tea, coffee, juice, biscuits and tea cakes are included in the admission charge.
Donations of plants (indoor and outdoor) and stalls are most welcome - please leave plants in front of Church House on Friday afternoon 2-6pm, or bring along on Saturday morning 5 May after 9am. 
All funds raised will be used for work and projects in Maes y Pant.
The Gresford & District Community Library will also have a stall and will be selling donated books, so if you're looking for holiday reading then this is the place! Funds from the sale of books will go to the Community Library.

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​Friends of Maes y Pant 4th Annual Meeting

Our 4th annual Friends meeting will be held at Church House on Tuesday 17 April 2018 at 7.30pm. For further details please see the Friends page under the 'About us' tab 

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