St Mary Street Allotment Association, Bedwas

Despite the drought, most of the native plants in the new wildlife garden are flourishing. Only the vetches are looking a bit sorry for themselves despite daily watering, but they may pick up once we've had some rain (though at the moment that doesn't seem likely to happen any time soon). The trellis panels arrived safely and were fitted by our resident carpenter Den, and the wild honeysuckle has started to take advantage of them.

This leaves us free to move on to the next phase of the project - the pond and wetland area. We are applying for a Biodiversity Grant to for the planned pond and native planting, which will include yellow flag iris, dwarf water lily, rushes, lesser spearwort, brooklime, poppies and foxgloves. We have already spotted newts and frogs on the site, and the pond will provide them with somewhere to breed - and it'll also provide thirsty birds and hedgehogs with a refreshing drink. There will also be a dead hedge, giving shelter to hedghogs, slowworms and many kinds of invertebrate, and a seating area where the humans can sit and enjoy watching them all! 

We have been lucky enough to receive a 'Wildlife Mini Garden Package' from Keep Wales tidy, and this morning a group of volunteers from the site installed the package, with the help of KWT's Dave Foley. The package includes raised beds, trellis, compost, topsoil, native wildflower and climbing plants, tools, and a 'small space gardening' book (delivery of the trellis was delayed, so it will be installed at a later date). 

This is the first phase of our new wildlife plot, which will also include a seating area, further planting, a large pond and a bog garden area, and will be wheelchair-accessible. 

We're very pleased to announce that Therapaws Wellbeing Services has taken over the running of our community plot as a Community Wellbeing Garden, an inclusive outdoor space where people can enjoy gardening, wildlife, sensory planting, food growing and the many wellbeing benefits of spending time outdoors. Visit the Therapaws website for more details.

We are currently constructing raised beds as part of our new Community Plot initiative, which will be open later in the spring for the use of local residents. 

Bedwas, Trethomas and Machen Community Council have kindly granted us £300 toward the construction of raised beds on our newly-formed community plot. These will be constructed with wheelchair access in mind, as will all applicable new projects on the site going forward.

We are very grateful for a grant of £300 received from Bedwas, Trethomas and Machen Community Council towards the purchase of a weatherproof notice board for the site. This will aid us in sharing information with members and passers-by, and help to foster a sense of community on the site. 

We are extremely grateful for a grant of £300 received from the Bedwas, Trethomas and Machen Community Council toward the purchase and installation of IBC containers to collect rainwater from the roof of the communal shed. The site is not connected to mains water, and this increase in rainwater harvesting capacity will help to combat the effects of climate change on the site.