Volunteers at a woodland project in Pontrhydfendigaid are also celebrating after gaining a Green Flag award.

Coed y Bont Community Woodland at Pontrhydfendigaid has achieved the prestigious Green Flag Community Award in recognition of its dedicated volunteer involvement, high environmental standards and commitment to delivering great quality green space.

Coed y Bont is the only site in Ceredigion to receive the Green Flag Community Award.

Set up about 10 years ago and underpinned by a management agreement with Natural Resources Wales, Coed y Bont has gone from strength to strength over the intervening years.

It provides good all-ability public access in a beautiful woodland setting where the visitor can enjoy and observe the wildlife in peace and tranquillity.

Its success is in large measure due to the hard work and dedication of volunteers, as well as the help given by Natural Resources Wales and the generous support from the local community.

Local resident Kathleen Evans, one of the volunteers, said: “I only became involved in helping at Coed y Bont earlier this year and I thoroughly enjoy our monthly volunteering sessions, doing things like building paths or clearing ones that have become overgrown, or creating a children’s glade.

Sometimes it’s quite hard work but the exercise is good and it’s great to work in the outdoors with a group of people doing something useful for the community.

“Bont is very lucky to have such a fantastic place right on its doorstep.”

145 community managed green spaces across the country have met the high standards needed to receive the Green Flag Community Award.

This means that Wales still holds a third of the UK’s community Green Flag sites.

The Green Flag Award programme is delivered in Wales by environmental charity Keep Wales Tidy, with support from Welsh Government. Independent green space experts volunteered their time in early autumn to judge applicant sites against eight strict criteria, including biodiversity, cleanliness, environmental management, and community involvement.

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.

“It is fantastic to see more places in Wales receiving Green Flag Award and Green Flag Community Award.

“These landscapes play a vital role in delivering rich ecosystems and vibrant and resilient communities, and I congratulate all of the sites for providing excellent, year-round facilities and events for people in Wales.”