Two local community gardens are celebrating after being awarded the prestigious Green Flag award for the year 2021/22. Goytre Community Garden achieved a Community Award in recognition of its dedicated volunteer involvement, high environmental standards and commitment to delivering great quality green space. Bailey Park in Abergavenny also won a Green Flag award with the community group Friends of Bailey Park being rewarded for their work on the Park’s Sensory Garden. Bailey Park was a recipient of a Green Flag award once again, having also won the award in 2021. Goytre Community Garden was established in the grounds of Capel Ed in March 2016. The land on which it is situated was formerly untended and untidy but has been transformed into an attractive and productive growing space. Local people often come down to the garden to sit and relax The Community Garden comprises a number of communal growing beds and planting tyres, as well as a pond, an orchard and a seating area with local people often using the garden to come and sit and relax in a quiet and reflective place. The Green Flag Award programme is delivered in Wales by environmental charity Keep Wales Tidy, with support from the Welsh Government, and is given to parks, gardens and other green spaces that have succeeded in fulfilling certain criteria, including biodiversity, cleanliness, environmental management and community involvement. Janet Robins – chair of the Community Garden said: “This award is a reflection of the hard work and commitment of the Community Garden Committee and of the members. I would also like the community of Goytre and local businesses for their support of the garden.” Julie James, the Welsh Government’s Minister for Climate Change, said: “Green spaces are vital for mental and physical well-being and throughout the pandemic we have seen how important these spaces have been for local communities. “Wales still holds more than a third of the UK’s Green Flag community sites and it is fantastic to see more places in Wales receiving Green Flag Award and Green Flag Community Award.” Lucy Prisk, Green Flag Coordinator at Keep Wales Tidy said: “The pandemic showed us just how important high-quality parks and green spaces are to our communities. With more visitors than ever enjoying our green spaces,

‘‘I’d like to congratulate the hard work of staff and volunteers who have maintained excellent standards at these sites.”

A full list of award winners can be found on the Keep Wales Tidy website www.keepwalestidy.cymru