Lysaght Institute Receives Coveted Green Flag Community Award

Located on the grounds of the Lysaght Institute, owned and run by Linc Cymru (Linc), the community garden received a Green Flag Community Award for the accessible green space it provides for local residents.

The Green Flag Award programme is delivered in Wales by environmental charity, Keep Wales Tidy, with support from Welsh Government. It is judged by green space experts, who visit applicant sites and assess them against criteria including biodiversity, cleanliness, environmental management and community involvement.

Established in December 2018 with support from Linc’s Growing Green Spaces project, the community garden is tended by local residents, who volunteer by maintaining the garden and putting on community events.

The vegetable patch, wildflower meadow and educational events, all contributed to them achieving the Green Flag Community award, one of the first to be given in Newport; and with more people using the community garden each month, plans are in motion to create a new, larger vegetable plot.

Caroline Jeremiah, local resident and community garden volunteer, said:
“It’s exciting to be able to get together with my neighbours and local community to do something different. It’s lovely being out in the open air in a green space, and great having a product from our vegetable patch at the end of it too!”

Luke Penny, Natural Resources Project Officer, Linc, said:
“I am proud of the hard work the local community have put into the community garden and how they have come together to achieve one of the first community Green Flags in Newport.”

Lucy Prisk, Keep Wales Tidy Green Flag Coordinator, said:
“I am really pleased that the Lysaght Institute has been successful in reaching the high standards required to achieve the Green Flag Community Award. It’s the first year we have awarded any sites in Newport and the Institute is now one of only two community sites in Newport with this prestigious Award, so quite an achievement. I would like to thank all the volunteers involved at the Institute for their hard work in creating such a lovely green space for everyone to enjoy.”

If you would like to get involved with the community garden at Lysaght Institute, contact Luke Penny, call 07989431912 or email luke.penny@linc-cymru.co.uk