Your Newport Your Wellbeing is an exciting NEW and FREE online map that connects people of Newport to everything that can help mental and physical well-being in your local area, developed by the Newport Integrated Wellbeing Network Team. This inlcudes some of our green spaces, and opportunties to get into nature and the outdoors.

This map can be added to and updated so if you have any feedback please get in touch.

Gwent gets ready for Nature Isn’t Neat.

Following successful grassland management pilots to improve biodiversity across the Gwent local authorities, this year the Nature Isn’t Neat approach is being coordinated to cover wider areas across Gwent, with the mission of making it ‘pollinator friendly’ by allowing more wildflowers to grow in our green spaces.

The project which is to be delivered as part of the Gwent Green Grid Partnership, will engage with local communities across South East Wales, raising awareness of pollinator decline and encouraging community ownership and empowerment to deliver actions that will help them recover. Find out more here.

What is No Mow May and why does it matter?

Plantlife's annual No Mow May campaign encourages us all to think about letting our lawns and the land we manage to grow, and avoid mowing especially during May, to allow wildflowers to bloom (including clover, daisies, dandelions and others) to help give our pollinators a much needed source of food. With approximately 15 million gardens in Britain, our lawns have so much potential to help our pollinators, especially given the loss of wildflower meadow habitat.

There’s plenty of information, tips and advice on the Plantlife website, please take a look and share far and wide.

Newport City Council has published their ambitious organisational Climate Change Plan which you can view here. You can also see a video here and read the press release. The plan sets out how The Council will work towards becoming a carbon neutral organisation by 2030.

A Green Infrastructure Assessment has been created for Newport. Welsh Government has asked all planning authorities in Wales to undertake one. This assessment gives us an idea of the type and amount of Green Infrastructure (GI) there is across the whole of Newport (parks and playing fields, street trees, allotments, private gardens, green roofs, rivers, canals etc). Its purpose is to help Planning Authorities take a strategic approach to GI and it identifies some opportunities to protect and enhance biodiversity and ecosystem resilience and gives some recommendations on next steps. More detail to follow once available.

Do you live in Newport?

We would like to hear from you to understand the key issues relating to the Climate and Nature Emergency that matter to you.

Complete the survey below to take part - closes 31^st May 2022.

One Newport Climate & Nature Emergency Survey

One Newport is the city’s partnership where local public, private and third sector organisations work together to improve the economic, social, environmental, and cultural wellbeing of Newport. We would like to hear from people across the whole of Newport to start to prioritise the actions we all need to take over the coming years.

The survey is the first step of a much wider series of engagement and involvement opportunities that will take place soon.

Buglife Pollinator Project

Buglife’s Pollinator Project in Newport, funded by the Landfill Disposals Tax Communities Scheme (LDTCS), aims to:

• Bring communities together to explore nature and celebrate local pollinators through an engaging, inclusive activity programme
• Restore pollinator habitats-improving the resilience of ecological networks
• Raise awareness and inspire people to take action for pollinators in their community including some of Wales’ most rare and threatened species

Tom Butcher-Flynn from Buglife has been busy planning lots of activities to deliver all of the above, and you can see some of the work below with The Road To Nature…

Pobl Plant Giveaway

Pobl, Newport City Council Central Hub, and Natural Resources Wales recently hosted a free plant giveaway at Pill Millennium Centre to encourage people to have a go at growing their own food. Over 300 plants were gifted with different vegetables, fruits, and herbs on offer. Over 30 families attended on the day, it was so lovely to see the children excited to have the opportunity to grow their own produce.

The event was funded by the National Lottery's ‘How Green Is My Valley’ project by Pobl staff member Charlotte Spring who said, ‘‘The event was a massive success, some families who attended in the morning came back in the afternoon to say they had already bedded the plants in their gardens and were excited to watch them grow. We continue to support communities in difficult times through many avenues, this event enabled us to encourage and educate families around the benefits of growing their own produce at a cost-free start.’’

Sustainable Food

There is now a Food Sustainability Co-ordinator for Newport. Gary Thomas from GAVO aims to support food projects that support people in crisis, such as food banks and community pantries, but also community growing projects with more long-term benefits.

A Food Sustainability Network across the City has been set up. Gary welcomes the opportunity to meet with groups that grow fruit and vegetables and who might be interested in forging valuable links between food projects and community growers. If you are interested in joining the Network or would like an informal chat, please feel free to get in touch.

Wildlife packs and Tree planting

Lucy Arnold-Matthews, Biodiversity and Education Officer at Newport City Council, has been busy with many projects. One of which was distributing 22 wildlife packs to community growing projects & various allotment sites across Newport as part of the Sustainable Communities project. Inspiring a nature friendly approach to growing, connecting habitat in some of our most urban areas. As part of Trees for Cities, 100 fruit trees have also been planted in various locations across Newport by volunteers, Newport City Council and others.

Woodland Wellbeing with Coed Lleol

The Woodland Wellbeing sessions in Bettws were a success, and local people enjoyed woodland walks, mindfulness and learned to identify many plants and wildlife. Coed Lleol led on delivering the sessions in Natural Resources Wales woodland, in partnership with Newport City Council North Hub.

As they have such potential to have a positive impact on people and offer a chance to reconnect with nature on the doorstep, there are now plans to keep these going with a monthly Woodland Wellbeing session – look out for more info.

Winter of Wellbeing sessions

The Outdoor Partnership Winter of Wellbeing Outdoor Activity sessions in Newport were a huge success, there was a full cohort of young people on the programme in March 2022 and they even put some extra sessions on in mountain biking and outdoor rock climbing for some young adults across the city.

Here are a few volunteering opportunities, to learn or develop skills, get outside, and help the environment and nature along the way. If you need help with getting more volunteers for your group please get in touch.

Countryside volunteers | Newport City Council

Stump up for Trees | Get Involved

Newport Wetlands RSPB

Groups in Newport who litter pick and work to help the environment:

• Celtic Horizons Litter Pickers
• Duffryn Dusters
• Graig Best Kept Village Group
• Lliswerry Ward community litter pick
• Newport East Litter Pickers
• Pride in Bettws
• Pride in Pill
• Rogerstone Routes
• St Julians Litter Pick Group
• Green Caerleon
• Woodland routes to Wellbeing/Pride in Duffryn: Facebook, Twitter
• Marshfield Magpies Action Group or contact the group here

Here is a short film on how Nature Prescribing works (sometimes called Green prescribing), a project called Wild Health run by Gwent Wildlife Trust, helping people get the benefits of being in nature and greenspaces Wild Health Nature Walk | Facebook.

A newsletter covering updates about the South East Wales Area Statement can be found here. This first edition looks back on the progress of the Area Statement across the Gwent region supporting the shared vision for the natural environment in Gwent.

If you have any queries get in touch or follow social media for the latest, Facebook @CyfNatCymDD and Twitter @CyfNatCymDD.

Natur a ni / Nature and Us is a Wales-wide conversation about the future of our natural environment, facilitated by Natural Resources Wales, in collaboration with the Welsh Government. It involves the people of Wales to develop a shared vision for our natural environment, considering the changes we need to make leading up to 2030 and 2050, as individuals and as a country.

The team behind Natur a ni / Nature and Us is currently reviewing the findings of the national conversation and preparing a report on the first phase of the project. If you would like to be kept informed about future Nature and Us developments enter your details on this Registration Page.

Funding Wales is a search platform created by Third Sector Support Wales to help you find the funding you need, from small grants to large capital projects.

Here are a few funding opportunities below.

GAVO - Sustainable Food Grant for community groups operating in Newport who offer support to those impacted by food insecurity and those working towards food sustainability - this can include activities such as community growing projects, cooking sessions or similar. Grants of up to £3000 available.

Keep Wales Tidy - Local Places for Nature packages: to help create a Food Growing Garden or Wildlife Garden, or Community Orchard.

National Lottery Sustainable Steps Wales: Action Grants from £10,001 to £350,000 that address climate change in communities and help people live in a more sustainable way. A key priority is to enable communities who are not usually engaged in climate change to help tackle the climate emergency and inspire others. Expression of interest closing date 21^st July 2022. 

The Woodland Trust – Free Tree Planting Packs: a range of free tree packs to suit schools, youth groups and communities with two delivery periods per year, in March and November.

UK Government - Community Ownership Fund: supports community groups to take ownership of assets and amenities at risk of being lost, including for example, parks, sporting and leisure facilities or other buildings/venues.

National Lottery awards for all: funding from £300 to £10,000 for community projects.

Landfill Disposal Tax Communities scheme: to help communities living within five miles of certain waste transfer stations or landfill sites take action for their local environment.