Criccieth Town Council and Friends of the Nature Garden are delighted that Cae Crwn community allotments, butterfly and nature garden has been recognised with an award.

The CLAS award, funded by Welsh Government and run by Social Farms and Gardens, gives recognition for making the best use of green space for the community and how volunteers on the project can demonstrate how their highly valuable activities support the goals of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.

This initiative is a partnership between the town council, Friends of the Nature Garden, Ysgol Treferthyr primary school, community volunteers and Gwynedd Council’s Nature Partnership and Friends of the Nature Garden.

The awards were held at Y Plas, Machynlleth on 16 March and attended by town council chair Cllr Delyth Lloyd, council clerk Dr Catrin Jones, and Jacquie Kirk and David Cassells from Friends of the Nature Garden.

Winners received a plaque and certificate from well-known gardener Huw Richards and a signed copy of his latest book.

Cllr Lloyd said: “The amazing work that has and is going on in Criccieth allotments and gardens is a source of great pride for us in the town. A group of volunteers are always hard at work thinking of new projects to offer opportunities for everyone to appreciate growing and harvesting food and plants in a piece of land that was otherwise empty.

“There are opportunities for everyone to go there to enjoy the bustle, or choose a quiet spot to be in the middle of nature. It really is an inspiring place.”

Jacquie and David said: “On behalf of Cae Crwn Allotments we are delighted to have received such an award and it recognises our efforts to showcase our achievements. This of course could not have been achieved without the support of our Criccieth Town Council.”

A development worker for Social Farms and Gardens who visited the site said: “One of the things that has made Cae Crwn so successful is the involvement of a dynamic and forward thinking town council. The town council has developed a community plan through a series of workshops with a facilitator. This is really innovative, engendering ownership and empowerment and galvanising community action. It lends legitimacy to any projects or goals named in the plan.

“For a town of only 1,800 residents Criccieth seriously punches above its weight in terms of community involvement and action.”