Highs and lows for Maes y Pant community woodland group

It has been a period for highs and lows for a community woodland group whose recent Green Flag success has been marred by vandals.

Volunteers at Maes y Pant in Gresford had been celebrating last month after receiving the high accolade of ‘Community Green Flag’ for the eighth year in a row.

Maes y Pant, meaning ‘Hollowfield’ in Welsh, is a wooded former quarry covering 72 acres in the villages of Gresford and Marford.

At its northern edge, Maes y Pant joins onto Marford Quarry, which is owned and run by the North Wales Wildlife Trust, and there is free access between the two sites.

The woodland was amongst 180 community managed green spaces across the country have met the high standards needed to receive the Green Flag Community Award

Maes y Pant is owned by a company called ‘Maes y Pant Action Group Ltd’, MyPAG for short. MyPAG is also a registered charity, and the trustees are all local people, volunteers who look after the site and run it as a community resource.

Chair of the Trustees, Ian Happs said: “We’re delighted to be awarded a Community Green Flag for the eighth year in a row.

“It’s all thanks to the vision, hard work and commitment of the trustees and volunteers who secured the site for the community and have developed the access and biodiversity over the past 12 years.”

Now in its third decade, Green Flag recognises well-managed parks and green spaces in 20 countries around the world.

In Wales, the awards scheme is run by Keep Wales Tidy. Lucy Prisk, Green Flag Coordinator for Keep Wales Tidy said:“Free access to safe, high quality green space has never been more important.

“Our award-winning sites play a vital role in people’s mental and physical well-being, providing a haven for communities to come together, relax and enjoy nature.

“News that a record number of community managed green spaces in Wales have achieved Green Flag status is testament to the dedication and hard work of hundreds of volunteers. We’re delighted to be able to celebrate their success on the world stage.”

Unfortunately, the volunteers’ delight was quickly followed by dismay, as a spate of anti-social behaviour has resulted in significant damage to the wildlife pond, which was created in 2014.

A large group of people was spotted in the area of the pond on the evening of Friday 28 July at about 8pm.

According to reports was a “lot of noise and afterwards the safety fence around the pond and the pond itself were found to have suffered significant damage.”

North Wales Police were called, and officers attended.

If you have any information about this incident, please contact North Wales Police using the 101 service or via the website.