Funders

National Lottery Community Fund – People and Places 5 Year Grant

Connecting People and Nature Project

April 2019 – May 2024

‘Connecting People and Nature, creating a sustainable woodland for all’ is a 5-year project funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.

Three new employment opportunities have also been created through the project, namely a woodland environment officer, an education officer, and an administrator.

The People and Places grant will allow us to continue managing the woods with volunteers with nature and the community at the heart of our decision making.

The project includes a woodland environment volunteering programme and a well-being programme, that includes community events and social forestry activities.   It will provide a new outdoor classroom to deliver forest school activities. 

A social history project will celebrate the cultural and natural heritage of the Newborough and District area. 

Click the links below to access our annual reports.

• Year 1
• Year 2
• Year 3
• Year 4
• Mid-year report 2023
• End of project report
• External evaluation and end of project report

Welsh Government’s Landfill Disposal Tax Community Scheme

Growing Together Project

January 2020 – March 2022

This project will create a signature green space with an improved ecological network, through planting trees and shrubs, with the involvement of the community.  It will be a beautiful and welcoming space with an accessible path and learning zones, which will encourage well-being and provide a range of new skills to participants.  The project will result in an enhanced environment that will keep on growing for time to come.

This project is funded by the Welsh Government’s Landfill Disposals Tax Communities Scheme, administered by WCVA.

Sustainable Development Fund

September 2021 – February 2022

We received funding from Sustainable Development Fund through the Isle of Anglesey County Council.  This funding will pay for Llyn Parc Mawr to run social prescribing sessions (Coed i Bobl/Trees for People) in order to to promote the economic and social well-being of the local community.

The Sustainable Development Fund (SDF) provides an exceptional opportunity to apply for grant aid for innovative, sustainable, environmental projects, which involve local communities in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs). AONBs are nationally important landscapes, designated for their spectacular scenic beauty. The five AONBs in Wales are: Anglesey, the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley, Gower, Llŷn and Wye Valley. The Welsh Assembly Government has set up this exciting scheme which will be co-ordinated by the Isle of Anglesey County Council.

The SDF aims through partnership, to develop and test ways of achieving a more sustainable way of living in countryside of great natural beauty and diversity. The scheme seeks to conserve and enhance the local characteristics of culture, wildlife, landscape, land use and community. Sustaining the social well being and economic viability of communities are also important aims of this scheme.

See the funding report here.

National Lottery Heritage Fund

We have received a 15 minute heritage fund from the National Lottery to celebrate the role that local people had in the creation and management of Newborough Forest.  The funding will pay for the installation of bilingual interpretation boards within Llyn Parc Mawr exhibiting local stories of the planting of the woodland and Newborough Forest in an engaging format, to inform both the local community and tourists of the history of the site.

We also propose a series of woodland activities delivered primarily through the medium of Welsh.  The activities will involve both local school children and families and be based around ideas which link the past of the site to the present.   Proposed activities will include basic wood crafts, weaving and learning about trees.  The events will be used to showcase the photographic, aural and/ or film-based stories, through the interpretation boards and projections of photos or film playing in our timber framed building. The events will also remember the historical importance of Marram grass weaving to the district’s history.

We hope to stimulate a conversation about the community’s relationship with the forest and the local environment both now and in the future.

Heritage grant report

‘Get ready to grow fund’ – grants for enterprising ideas which help the environment”.

September 2019 to March 2020.

Co-operative Foundation Grant

The Co-operative Foundation has awarded LLPMCWG a ‘Get ready to grow’ grant to explore enterprising ideas that will help the environment and work towards a sustainable future for our community space.

Llyn Parc Mawr Community Woodland Group was among the first in Wales to “bag” a share of a new fund launched by Co-op’s charity, The Co-op Foundation, to enable organisations with a community and environmental focus to safeguard spaces and become more sustainable.

Llyn Parc Mawr Community Woodland Group was awarded £8,470 to support its work in the Newborough Forest to create a sustainable woodland area to benefit wildlife and contribute to the well-being of the community.

The funding from The Co-op Foundation was used to pilot a series of enterprises including teaching woodland skills; reviving traditional crafts such as birch tapping and making willow baskets, and creating a forage forest for the forest school and forest birthday parties!

All of the initiatives were designed to connect the community with the woodland in a sustainable way – supporting the management and preservation of the area and its wildlife, including tree planting and the removal of invasive species.

The funding boost had been generated by proceeds from the 5p single-use carrier bag charge in Co-op’s Welsh food stores.

Mark Gahan, of Llyn Parc Mawr Community Woodland Group, said: “Our work is dedicated to making the forest better, not only benefitting the trees and wildlife, but also the well-being of our local community and visitors to the area. This funding boost from The Co-op Foundation has come at the perfect time to help us bring more projects to life – engaging our community and deepening their relationship with our woodland. We are working to build a sense of place and identify through our volunteering, training, sustainable trade, recreation and, education to connect all generations.”

Jim Cooke, Head of The Co-op Foundation, said: “Green spaces bring communities together and enhance people’s wellbeing, as well as contributing to a more sustainable environment for us all. We are delighted to support projects that will help community organisations across Wales to take their next steps in protecting or improving their much-loved local spaces.”

The funding is part of Co-op’s wider Endangered Spaces campaign to support 2,000 at-risk community spaces.