The Good Friendship Group, Merthyr Tydfil press release

New trees will be planted in areas across Merthyr Tydfil through a new community partnership between Transport for Wales (TfW), The Good Friendship Group and The Engine House, Dowlais, and the volunteers of St Davids Church Merthyr

The Good Friendship Group along with St Davids Church group are volunteers undertaking work to support older people in Merthyr Borough including St. David’s Church gardens. The Dowlais Engine House, which has around 25,000 square meters of land, actively supports young people in the local community.

As part of TfW’s Coed Cymunedol – Community Woodlands project, TfW and The Good Friendship / Church Group will plant a border of native trees along the Church grounds along with woodland and wildflower planting in centre of Merthyr and Good Friendship Group working with Engine House will enhance and develop the woodland area in the Engine House grounds.

Janet Morgan, The Good Friendship Group Leader, said: “All the groups working within the project in Merthyr support and promote biodiversity. Working with TfW will encourage both younger and older members of community to use the areas for activities that promote working together to increase health and wellbeing within Merthyr Tydfil. We look forward to the great opportunities the project will stimulate for our futures.”

Leyton Powell, Director for Safety and Sustainability for TfW, said: “The Coed Cymunedol project will help make woodlands more accessible and more resilient, supporting the health and well-being of communities and providing areas for increased wildlife biodiversity and connectivity. Projects like this are important to us at TfW, creating a more connected network means more than better transport options. By working closely with our communities, we can ensure that we’re building a network that Wales needs, deserves, and is fit for future generations.”

TfW and 11 community partners across Wales have been awarded £100,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund Community Woodlands Scheme. The projects funded by this grant scheme will help to inform the Welsh Government’s thinking on the long-term development of the National Forest in Wales (NfW).

The nine-month project is a collaboration with organisations across Wales, made up of local councils, social enterprises and woodland and community charities. Together we’ll create new woodland sites and improve and enhance existing woodlands in nine areas across Wales.

The project is part of TfW’s wider programme of Coed Cymunedol, funded by the Community Woodlands scheme. It is being delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with the Welsh Government