Author: Llais y Goedwig

EVENT: The Llais y Goedwig AGM

Written by Llais y Goedwig on 26/11/2024. Posted in Events.

Monday December 16th from 4:00pm

Join us online for the 2024 Llais y Goedwig AGM; hear about the development of Llais y Goedwig over the past year, what support we can offer in 2025 and we want to hear how you are doing too!

To introduce the theme of one of our potential projects in 2025, our Board member Brian Palmer will discuss the intimate history of Welsh language, culture and our woodlands, and we will also be exploring ways that you can have a culture ready woodland with examples from community woodlands across Wales.

You will have the opportunity to discuss your plans for 2025 and share your successes of the past 12 months – and discover how to get involved with our new projects. So, don’t miss this chance to support the only organisation working solely for community woodlands in Wales. Everyone is welcome.

To attend – please send us an email info@llaisygoedwig.org.uk to receive details on how to join.

BLOG: Tree planting with communities in Wrecsam.

Written by Llais y Goedwig on 07/05/2024. Posted in Blog.

Hywel Dodd north Wales development officer

Tree planting at Lincoln Close, Wrecsam.

On 15th March I attended a tree planting event organised by Wrexham CBC Open Spaces and Horticultural Officer, Jacinta Challinor and attended by around 60 employees of Lloyds Bank from Chester Business Park.

The planting site is open greenspace near Borras Park Community Primary School and was planted last winter with trees donated by the national scheme “My Tree Our Forest”. Unfortunately, due to combination of factors a high percentage of these trees failed so the aim of this event was to replace the trees (beat up) and to ensure a higher success rate through summer watering & aftercare.

Lloyds Bank had approached an organisation called Employee Volunteering CIC: https://www.employeevolunteering.co.uk/about-us/ who had facilitated the experience with the help of WCBC.

The volunteers were really enthusiastic and were committed to the planting tasks (and the opportunity to be away from their screens no doubt!) Over the course of the day we planted around 1000 whips with plenty of team work on show.

Wrecsam County Borough Council have committed to increase tree cover in the County Borough and have developed a ‘Woodland Pledge’ to demonstrate their commitment to this end. For more information and to take part in a series of woodland activities in the summer please get in touch.

BLOG: Adventures in Charcoal: nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Written by Llais y Goedwig on 07/05/2024. Posted in Blog.

Steve Chamberlain southeast development officer

Late January I organised a training day focusing on charcoal production. The volunteers at Blaen Bran community woodland had been sorting out their yard and as a result had much waste wood. I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to trial my new retort kiln prototype (ivor) that I have been tweaking since Lockdown #1 and then later in the year we will use the ring kiln with the volunteers and compare the advantages and disadvantages of kiln type in the production of charcoal.

Subzero temperatures were not anticipated but the sun was shining and the woodland had a wonderful winter atmosphere. It would seem the perfect time for charcoal production, however, that was not the case. Winter is the time of gathering materials for charcoal production and the summer months for creating it but we thought we would try anyway. We fired up the kiln and discussed all things charcoal whilst soaking up the heat being expelled from the kiln, potatoes hissing in their tins on the coals, what could go wrong?

It took 90 minutes to get the inner chamber up to 100 degrees. 300 degrees is the target – as it is the point where the wood in the inner chamber releases gas that goes into the fire box and the wood starts ‘cooking’ itself. Four hours had now passed and still no gasification. We had only reached 230 degrees in the inner chamber despite piling in extra waste wood into the firebox. As nothing was progressing and the weather was desperately trying to snow we agreed we close the kiln down, by and hope for the best.

This process could be viewed as a failure but as this was a test run and confirmed two important factors a failure it was not, so if knowledge was gained it should be deemed at least a partial success.

The first of the two learning factors was the quality of the wood being charred. This was cut and seasoned firewood which had been sat out in the elements for some ten years and had become light in weight, thinking this would have very little moisture if any, it may hold less wood gases also.

The second learning factor is the time of year or more accurately the temperature . The kiln is not insulated and could not get to the required temperature in sub zero conditions. We had considered this as a potential issue at the beginning of our trial but can confirm this now.

Despite the lack of product at the close of play a good day was had by all, we all learned something new and we are looking forward to our next session in more clement weather. Charcoal and more importantly biochar is a great way for groups to learn important woodland heritage skills and generate an income from waste materials as well as trapping carbon and halting further climate change. Many groups already produce these products with traditional ring kilns but retort kilns are much more efficient and environmentally friendly so if you are interested in making the switch Llais y Goedwig would be glad to assist.

Have a look at the helpful glossary and links if you want to understand more about this process.

Glossary

Retort Kiln – Wood is placed in a large steel cylinder (or “retort”). This has a tightly closed door, and some means to let tar and gases escape. The cylinder is heated from the outside. No air enters the barrel. When the wood in the cylinder has been heated to the right temperature, a chemical reaction (called carbonization) begins that gives off heat and by-products. Little additional outside heat is necessary.

Ring Kiln – A ring kiln is a metal drum with chimneys and a lid that acts as an oven in just the same way as the soil once did.

Gasification – Gasification is a process that converts organic or fossil-based carbonaceous materials at high temperatures (>700°C).

Charcoal – is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. without combustion, with a controlled amount of oxygen and/or steam into carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide.

Biochar – is more porous and has a larger surface area than charcoal — a few ounces of biochar can have an internal surface the size of a football! This porosity and surface area helps biochar improve soil structure and house beneficial microbes, resulting in healthy soil.

BLOG: Coednet Focus on Foraging

Written by Llais y Goedwig on 24/04/2024. Posted in Blog.

Jules Cooper is a professional forager and wild weaver who lives on a smallholding on the Isle of Anglesey (Ynys Mon) She is passionate about the preservation of our native hedgerows and wild spaces, and regularly runs workshops teaching people about the wonders of wild plants. Jules is also known on Anglesey for her award winning hedgerow-inspired fruit leathers and has been referred to as a wild food alchemist and a Hedgewitch!

For more profiles on our talented woodland foragers check out the Coednet website.

Seasonal Foraging Recipes – Wild Spring

The recipes are inspired by the beautiful wild plants growing on my smallholding, in magical woodlands, the heathland, my local beach in Llanfwrog and other free spirits who share my passion. Due to the diversity of locations on the island, there is an abundance of wild food to be foraged, so snacks like my legendary pakoras can eaten all year round with seasonal plants like Wild Garlic, Three Cornered Leek, Chickweed, Fat hen, Sea beet and even Dandelion flowers!

Wild Garlic Vegan Pesto – Wild Garlic (Allium ursinum)

65g sunflower seeds

100g wild garlic leaves

1 zest and juice of one lemon

½ tsp salt, more to taste

4 tbsp Nutritional Yeast

Pepper to taste

120 ml extra virgin olive oil

a generous pinch of chilli flakes (optional)

How to make it

Wash wild garlic leaves really well and dry them in a salad spinner or pat dry with clean tea towel.

Place all the pesto ingredients into a blender and process until smooth.

Keep in a lidded container in a fridge and use within 3 days.

The pesto goes well with the pakoras!

Chickweed Pakoras – Chickweed (Stellaria media)

Pakoras are a very popular snack in my foraging workshops. They are street a social food, an ancient relationship between a society and its food. They can be made throughout the year using chickweed (it’s pretty much all year round) dandelion flowers, Seabeet and Fat hen or mixture of the above.

200g Gram flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp curry powder

1 tsp Turmeric powder

1 tsp Celtic sea salt

100g Chickweed or another wild edible ingredient.

1 medium onion

A small handful of three cornered leek or 2 garlic cloves

About 240ml water

Sunflower oil for frying

How to make them

Wash your chickweed well and dry in a salad spinner or Pat dry in clean tea towel Cut chickweed with scissors to break up the long stringy strands.

Cut the onion in half and and slice quite thinly.

Chop garlic finely or cut the three cornered leek into small pieces.

Sieve the gram flour, baking powder and curry powder into a large bowl.

Slowly add the water to create thickish batter consistency.

Stir in the onion and garlic and thoroughly mix.

Add chickweed and stir well

Heat oil to about 200 C

When oil is ready carefully drop dessert spoonfuls into the hot oil until golden brown, turning once in the oil.

Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

Makes about 16

For more recipes to try out this book is now available: Seasonal Wild Plant Recipes (2023) £11.99

A collection of some of my favourite wild plant recipes that I have used in my foraging events since moving to Ynys Mon (Isle of Anglesey) in 2010.

Follow the link to purchase. Buy Book Here

NEWS: Gwerin Growers

Written by Llais y Goedwig on 11/04/2024. Posted in News.

Communities in south Powys offered mini tree nurseries for growing trees.

Do you want to do something practical to help nature locally?

Gwerin Growers grow trees to be used in local planting projects. We provide the kit, the tree seeds or seedlings, training in how to look after the trees, and support from a local project officer.

You will need space for a 1m x 1m growing bed, in your garden, grounds or allotment. Once the trees are a year old we can collectively supply local projects with home grown Welsh provenance trees nurtured by you.

Want to find out more contact Steve Chamberlain: Steve@llaisygoedwig.org.uk / 07954 732796

Newsletter Winter 2023

Written by Llais y Goedwig on 24/01/2024. Posted in Newsletters.




As the last of vestiges of autumn give way to the first frost of winter the woodlands of Wales, far from being dormant are busy with volunteers undertaking vital management work. The social media updates from members are filled with images of volunteers hard at work building, clearing, planting and hosting festive events in their woodlands. In a week that includes International Volunteering Day, we recognise the dedication and passion community woodland volunteers have for their woodlands. Llais y Goedwig exists to support you, and to do this we need to know what you, our community woodland members, would like us to focus on. If you haven’t had the chance to complete the Members Poll sent out a few weeks ago, now is the time as we be making plans for next year very soon.

Coednet Online Christmas Marketplace Looking for that perfect sustainable Christmas gift or searching for a supplier of woodland services? The Coednet Christmas Marketplace is showcasing makers and companies that are working with or within Welsh woodlands. From furniture designers, to basket weavers, tree surgeons to saw mills there is a vast range on offer. Visit the marketplace today, and if you would like to join Coednet and showcase your own work/services send an email to Jayne, the project officer for more details. Llais y Goedwig Members Poll As mentioned if you are a community woodland group member and haven’t yet completed the members poll we are doing one last push before it closes next week. We value all feedback and thanks to those who have already completed it. The format is simple and it takes less than 5 minutes. Here are the links: English Cymraeg

Congratulations: TWIG funding announced
The latest successful Welsh Government / National Heritage Lottery Fund Wales Woodland Investment Grant awards include over half from community woodland groups and Llais y Goedwig members. We congratulate them and look forward to documenting their experiences through the website and blogs. Coetir Anian is receiving £90,462 to create a 50-hectare mosaic structure with dense thicket and high canopy forest in woodlands outside Machynlleth. Elwy Working Woods Ltd is receiving £249,248 to transform five small woodlands to provide wood to regenerate a micro timber industry. Sirhowy Hill Woodlands CIC is receiving £249,995 to transform the 85 hectare Sirhowy Hill Woodlands for the area’s communities. Llyn Parc Mawr Community Woodland Group Ltd is receiving £201,300 to restore and enhance a woodland on Anglesey which is part of Newborough Forest. Llais y Goedwig has also supported; Halkyn Castle Wood Events and Education Ltd is receiving £96,000 to provide safe spaces in Castle Woods in Halkyn and encourage visitors. (Coednet member) Care and Repair North East Wales is receiving £249,126 to develop and manage Dee Park in Shotton and expand facilities for local people. (received Dev Officer support)



Blog: The year that was, and the Llais y Goedwig AGM In October Llais y Goedwig held our Annual General Meeting online. It was well attended with members and friends from across the country. Thanks go to Mike Robinson, the National Forest Liaison Officer for north east Wales for his presentation on the National Forest for Wales , and to Dr Jenny Wong for her presentation on wood fuel. Both presentations are available by emailing us. If you were not able to attend but want an overview of the Llais y Goedwig year, you can read our handy summary ( 5 mins read). Find a blog of the report here.

Llais y Goedwig news

Funding success It is a competitive landscape for any Third Sector organisation seeking funding at the moment, but we are delighted to announce the success of not one but three recent applications. If you would like more information on any of the projects please get in touch with us here. WCVA Strategic Volunteering Grant – will support councils with bespoke work increasing volunteering opportunities in their green spaces. This could be anything from an audit of volunteer policies, to building cross department support to access, or even a promotional strategy. Gwerin Growers – is funded by Welsh Government’s Local Places for Nature Challenge Fund, administered by WCVA. We know that communities are enthusiastic home growers of trees, so Gwerin Growers will harness that enthusiasm by providing kit, training and a nursery hub within Powys – but with replicability Wales wide. Deall y Dail – will work with community woodland groups in Powys to understand the gaps in capacity and resources. It will support access to volunteering from communities and profile community woodland groups at major events in 2024. This Grant is provided by PAVO Making a Difference in Powys, as part of the UK Government Levelling Up fund.

CommuniTree Community Tree Nursery Film & Training The popularity of community tree nurseries continues unabated, with the CommuniTree training courses often full within hours of them being announced. Our partner Coed Cadw / The Woodland Trust in Wales has produced this informative and inspiring short film that provides an overview of the CommuniTree project including plenty of the participants. You can view the film here. These are the details of the next training events coming up. For more information and details please contact the project officer Jayne Hunt. Tree Nursery essentials: pests and diseasesOnline: 13 Dec 2023 10:30 – 12:00 In Person: 24th January 2024 Coed y Tor Cowbridge In this session, we will cover the risks that pests and diseases pose for nurseries. We will discuss the pathways through which they can enter and leave. Look at controls to mitigate against the risks and see what is involved with UKISG and Plant Healthy certification To book the online event click hereTo book the Coed y Tor event click here Tree Nursery Essentials: locally sourced seed Centre for Alternative Technology on the 9th of February 2024 This one-day course wth Dr.Jenny Wong will cover the case for using locally sourced native trees in new woodland creation and highlight that this can only happen if there is a reliable supply of seed to tree nurseries and more. To book click here.

If you produce items from Welsh woodlands, or provide a woodland service consider joining the Llais y Goedwig online resource for sustainable woodland products and services. We feature providers ranging from natural face balms and hand crafted walking sticks to bush craft events and charcoal. Check out the link here and share with your friends and family.

Links/ Updates Questionnaire about public access to woodlandForest Research are gathering views on public access to woodland – if you are a group, manager or owner of woodland get in touch here Biodiversity GuideWith biodiversity seemingly headlining every environmental fund and The State of Nature report predicting a catastrophic loss of species thanks to Climate Change this helpful guide from the Senedd Research on Biodiversity provides a clear overview with a glossary of terms used and important legislation you need to know about. Take a look here Tree Equity ScoreJust released ! This mapping and data tool highlights the correlation between tree cover and health outcomes. The tool was created through a partnership between American Forests, the US non-profit organisation that created Tree Equity Score, the Woodland Trust and the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare. To discover more go the site

Funding
Dwr Cymru Environment Fund The new fund is designed to help third-sector groups develop and then implement ideas on how to help nature on our sites and the wider community. To find out more go here Arts, Health & Wellbeing Lottery Fund (Wales)Grants of up to £50,000 are available to support partnerships of organisations from across the arts, health, social care and third sectors for high-quality creative projects that deliver health and wellbeing benefits for the people of Wales. On how to apply click here

Training
The Llais y Goedwig Winter Series We are planning a series of winter webinars so we can all embrace spring in our woodlands bursting with ideas and inspiration. We are partnering with some fantastic organisations to bring these to you; they will include bee ID in woodlands, how to host a bio blitz in your woods, planning new tree planting, the new 30 by 30 legislation and more! The final events will take place in person at two sites in south east Wales; a coppice festival and traditional hedge laying training. To register your interest in the Llais y Goedwig winter series email here. MWMAC Last of the year training sessions from MWMAC. If you have a FFF training plan you must get in touch with them ASAP. To look at the courses go here

Jobs
Project Officer, Swansea Community GreenspacesAre you someone who has a passion for nature and being part of grassroots movements to protect it?This role will include proactively advising groups, engaging local communities, organising training, and delivering practical activities. Check out the details here People Engagement Officer – Natur Am Byth ( Angelsey) Would you be interested in joining a team to help conserve the most endangered species in north-west Wales?We are seeking an enthusiastic individual with a passion for nature conservation to to secure a long-term future for curlew and water vole in the Cefni Valley on Anglesey. For information to apply click here

and finally … winter wreath making and other group festivities

Now is the time to wrap up and gather willow, holly, pine cones and mistletoe for your festive wreath. Follow Georgie Newbery as she collects and makes a beautiful willow wreath, so you can have your own beautifully foraged sustainable woodland decoration. Don’t forget to check out other community woodland wreath making, festive reindeers and Christmas tree sales, calendars too! Woodland Classroom has a family wreath making on SaturdayBangor Forest Garden has a wreath making SundayTremains Woodland Rangers are selling handmade reindeerBlaen Bran are selling calendars of their woodlands to fundraise.


Coming up next month in spring: community woodland buildings, spring woodland , events, training and more!

Useful Woodland Links

www.llaisygoedwig.org.uk
www.woodlandtrust.org.uk
www.makinglocalwoodswork.org
www.coedlleol.org.uk

Our mailing address is:
Unit 1
Dyfi Eco Parc
Machynlleth
Powys
Wales
SY20 8AX

EVENT: Meithrinfeydd coed / Tree Nurseries cydymffurfio â rheoliadau iechyd coed / complying with tree health regulations

Written by Llais y Goedwig on 14/12/2023. Posted in Events.

Dydd Mercher Ionawr 2024 10:30 – 15:00 yp / Wed, 24 Jan 2024 10:30 – 15:00 pm

Venue: Coed y Tor Penllyn estate farm Cowbridge CF71 7FF

To book please follow the link

Meithrinfeydd coed – cydymffurfio â rheoliadau iechyd coed

Er mwyn mynd i’r afael â’r argyfwng hinsawdd, rydym yn cefnogi casglu hadau coed treftadaeth lleol a lluosogi ar gyfer prosiectau lleol yng Nghymru. Mae’r gweithdy hwn yn rhan o raglen hyfforddiant i alluogi cymunedau yng Nghymru i gofrestru clystyrau hadau coed, casglu hadau coed o goed iach a sefydlu eu meithrinfeydd coed eu hunain i ddarparu glasbrennau ar gyfer prosiectau plannu coed lleol.

Ardystiad a bioddiogelwch Planhigfa

Yn y sesiwn hon, byddwn yn mynd i’r afael â’r risgiau mae plâu a chlefydau’n eu peri i blanhigfeydd. Byddwn yn trafod sut allant fynd a dod, ystyried mesurau rheoli er mwyn lliniaru’r risgiau, a gweld beth sydd ynghlwm ag ardystiad Plant Healthy ac UKISG.

Defnyddio planhigfa go iawn i drafod y risgiau hyn ymhellach. Dewch gyda bŵts glân.

Cynhelir y digwyddiad rhwng 10.30 a 3pm.

Mae’r digwyddiad hwn wedi bod yn bosib diolch i Coed Cadw, y Woodland Trust yng Nghymru, gyda chymorth gan chwaraewyr People’s Postcode Lottery.

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Tree Nurseries -complying with tree health regulations

In order to tackle the climate crisis, we support saving local heritage tree seeds and propagation for local projects in Wales. This workshop is part of a training program to enable Welsh communities to register tree seed clusters, collect tree seeds from healthy trees and set up their own tree nurseries to provide saplings for local tree planting projects.

Nursery biosecurity and certification

In this session, we will cover the risks that pests and diseases pose for nurseries. We will discuss the pathways through which they can enter and leave. Look at controls to mitigate against the risks and see what is involved with UKISG and Plant Healthy certification.

Using a real-life nursery to discuss in further detail these risks. Please come with clean boots.

The event will run from 10.30 to 3pm.

This event has been made possible with thanks to Coed Cadw, the Woodland Trust in Wales, with support from Players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

To book please follow the link:

BLOG: Read all about the Llais y Goedwig Year (2022/23)

Written by Llais y Goedwig on 07/12/2023. Posted in Blog.

For anyone that was unable to attend our AGM in October, but wanted to see what we have been up to, here is the report that was delivered by our Programme Manager Maria Wilding.

Llais y Goedwig Yearly Report

Autumn 2022

Autumn 2022 onwards saw us pretty much returning to pre-Covid levels of activity – our summer events of the Royal Welsh Show and the Eisteddfod took place for the first time in 3 years in 2022 and gave us a chance to reconnect with members and the general public in Wales, showcase the great work of Community Woodlands across Wales and continue through 2022 and 2023 with a renewed appetite for all things Community Woods!

This year we have continued to support member groups via the website, online, the newsletters and in person through our Development Officers across Wales delivering targeted assistance relevant to each group.

The Annual Gathering

The 2023 Gathering was held on Anglesey in May with 64 attendees from member groups and partner organisations coming together to explore local Community Woodland sites, discuss topics (as diverse as: the National Forest, Forest Resource Plan consultations, orchard management and managing a site for red squirrels) as well as taking the opportunity to learn practical techniques and share ideas to take back to their own woodland groups. We enjoyed some spectacular weather, great food, and our thanks go to the groups on Ynys Mon who helped make the Gathering a success.

Project update

The RDP funded Dewis Gwyllt project ended in October 2022 after three years of researching the feasibility and development of non-timber forest products with woodland groups. The completion of this project coincided with the beginning of Goods from the Woods; informed by member feedback and Dewis Gwyllt research, this nine-month project had a remit to set up and run a marketing platform for sustainable woodland goods and services in Wales. It is great to report that the COEDNET website is now live, showcasing the best of Wales’ woodland products. If you haven’t yet joined – Llais y Goedwig members have a free listing and there will be an online Christmas market from November so please get in touch if you would like to be part of that.

Another successful work stream has been the CommuniTree project, working in conjunction with Woodland Trust to enable small and community tree nurseries to start up and expand. It has continued into a third year with more courses, workshops and networking.

Contract Work

Our contracted work with local councils continued with a renewed contract with Bridgend County Borough Council to help manage a local nature reserve Bedford Park, and I’m pleased to report that Kaz and her groups of volunteers have transformed the site.

We also helped to manage a series of activities under an ENRaW funded project across Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taff (RCT) and Merthyr council areas with the Cwm Taf Nature Networks project.

Our largest contract over the last year was ‘My Tree, Our Forest’ – a 12-month Welsh Government/Woodland Trust campaign to deliver the ‘give-away’ hubs and ‘plant a tree for me’ aspects of the programme linking with a wide range of community groups across Wales.

During the project we managed 56 hubs giving out trees to the public, landowners and organisations and arranged planting on 190 sites nationally.

NRW Enabling Community Woodlands

We are in the second year of a two-year contract supporting woodland groups with Community Management Agreement on the Welsh Government Woodland Estate, this has been an interesting work stream working with the NRW Permissions team, and we are now negotiating an extension to the contract.

WCVA

We are pleased to announce we have been awarded a WCVA Strategic Volunteering Grant to run a project between October 2023 and March 2025 to work with Local Authorities in Wales to develop their volunteering offer for groups on their land. More details of this project in the next couple of weeks.

Organisational Overview

The past year has been our first without core grant funding and has been a test of our adaptability in delivery models – moving to a blend of contract work and grant funds. It has been a challenging but rewarding year which has tested our flexibility – but we’ve risen to the challenge, and we feel a stronger organisation for it.

Our proven ability to deliver on larger scale contracts (as noted above) working in partnership with other third sector organisations has meant an increase in partnership opportunities within the sector.

The blended income model will continue to be how we fund support for members over the next year. With the support of staff, board and members we have a mixture of ongoing contracts and smaller grant fund ‘pots’ so that we can continue to support the network to both grow and develop.

This new way of working has meant a revision of staff roles, as well as examining our skills and capacity, and our Llais y Goedwig team have adapted as needed to continue to deliver our aims.

This year we have bid farewell to Cara Wilson our CommuniTree Officer who is now an ally in the NRW People & Places team, and one of our original development officers Sara Wynne Pari who is studying for an MSC at Bangor University. We also welcomed

new staff member Martyn Davies who will be covering Southwest and South Central Wales along with existing staff.

Llais y Goedwig Membership

Once again, we’ve had a busy membership year, which reflects the focus on woodlands both for community wellbeing and climate change outcomes, and this perhaps also reflects renewed interest in these areas following the Covid Pandemic and restrictions that came with it. We now have 124 full community woodland members from across Wales.

New members this year come from every corner of our country and include:

Goedwig Gymunedol Dyffryn Tanat, Bwyd am Byth, Rosehill Quarry, Ynysdawley Playing fields association, Natur Ystradgynlais, Gwendreath Environmental Education, Colwyn Bay Conservation and Environment Federation, Gelli Deg Dyfi, Llanbrynmair Pathfinders, Woodworks CIC, Friends of Wern Mynach, Friends of West Park, Merthyr Mawr Conservation Volunteers, Rabbitt Hill Community Woodland, Cemaes Bay, Nature for all, Friends of Henllys LNR, and Coedwig Creu – apologies if I’ve missed anyone off the list

So welcome to the network folks. Please do engage, ask questions, contribute your experiences, and ask for help when needed – it is what we are here for.

Board of Directors

The Llais y Goedwig board are all volunteers representing the diversity of our members and supporters. Their time, energy and effort in steering Llais y Goedwig should not go unrecognized as it has been a year of, at times, challenging decision making regarding the ongoing management of the Forestry Hub in Machynlleth, staff roles and the future

shape of our income streams, all the while taking into account the wishes and needs of our member groups.

They’ve supported with the organisation through, what have sometimes been, difficult times for them personally as well as professionally. So, thanks to the current board members: David, Fay, Chris, Suzy, Joey and Ian. As of this AGM Joey is resigning as a Board member and Suzy is stepping down for a year. We hope to welcome more Directors before the end of the AGM as they are a vital part of how we operate.

If you feel you would like to play a part in steering LlyG through the next few years as a member of the board of directors or as a member of the Policy Advisory Group please do get in touch to talk over ways you can contribute.

The Forestry Hub

Some of you might know that we’ve been managing a shared office space in Machynlleth since 2016 – Originally at Unit 6 in Dyfi Eco Parc and now in a larger space at Unit 1. The ‘Forestry Hub’ was initially funded by Welsh Government but with careful management by Llais y Goedwig has become self-sustaining with almost 30 desks occupied by other forestry and related organisations and small businesses. It brings in a small but reliable income for LlyG as well as useful storage space. An added bonus is that it also enables us to connect with forestry and environmental organisations who we share the office with. We are in the final stages of negotiating a further lease with Dulas the organisation who manage the building.

And finally … to round off

A big thank you to everyone! – especially to our staff for their hard work, but to everyone who has attended events and contributed to the network over the past year and a bit.

All our hard work over the past few years has meant that Llais y Goedwig’s profile at strategic levels in NRW, Welsh Government and with other environmental organisations has never been higher – we are increasingly being seen, not only as an organisation to be consulted, but also one who can help deliver on many levels and on multiple agendas.

Llais y Goedwig still exists for and is directed by you the members – it’s your amazing work that is the inspiration for what we do and we really need you to keep talking to us and telling us what works and what doesn’t, and what you need to thrive as community woodland groups in Wales.

[ENDS]

NEWS: Last Chance to complete Members Poll

Written by Llais y Goedwig on 06/12/2023. Posted in News.

What are your priorities for Llais y Goedwig support?

Llais y Goedwig is an organisation led by it’s members and for the team to understand what our membership feels would best support their groups we have been running a poll for the past month.

If you are a Llais y Goedwig community woodland member you will have received an email from us with the details on how to take part.

We will be closing the poll at the end of the week so if you haven’t had a chance to complete it yet – now is the time !

The poll takes a couple of minutes of your time and would help our team (and you) plan funding and support.

Here are the links to the poll in English and Cymraeg. Diolch / Thanks

English

Cymraeg

NEWS: Support woodland arts and crafts this festive season.

Written by Llais y Goedwig on 27/11/2023. Posted in News.

Coednet launches the woodland Christmas Marketplace.

If you are looking for unique gifts that will support woodlands across Wales – then visit the Coednet online marketplace this festive season. The market hosts plenty of makers selling products from the woodlands of Wales. From baskets to bowls, jewellery to furniture this is the best way to connect to your local craftspeople and shop local.

Click here to visit the marketplace

Every post features a Meet The Maker conversation for more information on the inspiration behind the products.

Running til the 17th December.

If you want more information about Coednet – whether you are a maker or a buyer please get in touch!