Glynneath Care Service Receives Garden Project Package
Pobl Group’s Supported Living service in Glynneath has benefitted from a free garden package from Keep Wales Tidy, thanks to First Choice Housing Association.
As part of the Keep Wales Tidy Local Places for Nature Scheme, the Pobl service was gifted with a starter package which included all of the supplies required to start giving nature a home.
This included five fruit trees, ten soft fruit bushes, ten herb and pollinator plants, a fruit tree handbook, peat-free compost, wildflower seeds, gloves and hand tools.
Pobl Group’s Team Manager, Emma Bailey, was delighted with the package and very thankful for the generosity of Keep Wales Tidy and the thoughtfulness of service landlord, First Choice Housing. She said, “Everyone at the service was so happy to hear that we were going to receive the garden package – especially Lynette, one of the individuals we support. Lynnette enjoys spending time outdoors and this garden project gave her the chance to really get stuck in with the gardening.”
Guiding Lynnette through the planting process was First Choice Housing’s Health & Wellbeing Coordinator, Eve Exley, who attended the service with a team of volunteers from the organisation and Kathryn Britton from Keep Wales Tidy.
Eve said, “Outside space has been hugely valuable to so many of us throughout the pandemic, so I jumped at the opportunity to apply for some Keep Wales Tidy garden packages for First Choice properties. The outside space at the Glynneath service has so much potential and we know how much the garden means to Lynette, in particular.
“First Choice staff couldn’t wait to get stuck in and we were so pleased that people wanted to join us with the project. It was lovely to see everyone enjoying themselves and we’re looking forward to seeing what’s produced from the new fruit and herb gardens.”
The garden project fits in perfectly with the ‘Pobl Zero’ strategy – Pobl Group’s route map to decarbonisation and achieving net zero by 2030.
As part of this, the Group plans to cut carbon from its Care and Support buildings, which means engaging with the individuals who live at the services is vital – as is the opportunity to access green, open spaces, which aids mental health and wellbeing.
The Keep Wales Tidy initiative is part of a wider Welsh Government ‘Local Places for Nature’ fund, committed to creating, restoring and enhancing nature ‘on your doorstep’. Last year, more than 500 green spaces across the country were created, restored and enhanced, with community groups and organisations of all shapes and sizes getting involved.
For many, nature is a lifeline in times of crisis – Pobl Group recognises that there is a collective responsibility to look after it and, in turn, one another. The Glynneath garden project will of course, play a part in all of this – and the Group will be sure to keep checking back with the team and the individuals they support to find out how the project is progressing.
