Page 13 - ALG Issue 4 2023

An Open Day to Launch a New Community Growing Space
Pontygwindy Allotments held an
open day in August to celebrate the work that has been done over the last two years and to officially open the Community Growing Space. There were crafts, vegetables, a bonsai tree display, refreshments, photograph displays and tours. We were also lucky enough to have the Caerphilly Mayor, Counsellor Mike Adams to officially open it for us.
Pontygwindy Allotments is a voluntary run organisation run by committee members. Over the last two years we have been developing the allotments to enable the wider community to benefit from it. We rely mostly on grants to be able to find our projects.
The first grant we received was from Caerphilly County Borough Council which was for a fully accessible
eco toilet. This has definitely had a positive effect on our plotholders and community users. We applied and received a grant to enable us to buy and install polytunnels for our local school plot and the NERS (National Exercise Referral Scheme) plot, along with wheelbarrows and gardening tools.
Last year, we started giving our local food banks fresh food donations, which were donated by plotholders and grown on any spare land. We obtained a grant from food4growth to enable us to buy
a large polytunnel – specifically to grow food all year round for the food banks. We also obtained a grant from Keep Wales Tidy to complete the growing area around the polytunnel with raised beds, a greenhouse, shed, compost bin and seeds.
We now have a small but growing team of volunteers who manage our community growing space (as it is now called). In the near future, we are hoping we will have a purpose-built eco-friendly building
to enable us to hold community events which will include talks on horticulture, demonstrations and healthy eating
to name a few. This will also provide a space for NERS to hold mindfulness sessions and for the school to run educational lessons.
At the moment we hold smaller
scale events in our marquee for our plotholders, including their family and friends. We have recently introduced a craft club every other Friday from 2-4pm
which is growing with volunteers, plotholders and people from our local community. It’s not only a place to share and learn different crafts but a place to come and chat with others.
Nicola Coombes, Pontygwindy Allotments Secretary
On behalf of the NAS I would like to thank Pontygwindy Allotment and Community Growing Space. It was truly a marvellous experience to see what has been achieved
at this site and the facilities provided to the members and community. We were blessed with dry and sometimes sunny weather which enabled us to take a tour around the site.
Granville Pitman
Regional Panel Wales Chair
The NAS
Regional Chairman Granville Pitman was introduced to the Caerphilly Town Council Mayor Councillor Mike Adams
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