A short while ago members of the Our Place team met with Friends members to plant some lavender near the football field towards the Coed Bach road entrance, one of our members spotted a bee flying around the plants and stopped to take this image.

Below is the Map we have had done thanks to the grant from the Tesco Bags of Help Scheme.  We are hoping to get these installed by end of July one at each entrance.

UPDATE

The signs have now been put in place at the Coed Bach entrance, and next to the QE2 plaque at the Gwynfryn Rd entrance.

As usual you can follow our Facebook page at:-

https://en-gb.facebook.com/groups/550777668395584/

And our Twitter Feed at:- https://twitter.com/FOCBP

FOCBP Facebook Page

Tesco Bags for life.

This vote is available in all Tesco stores throughout the Swansea Area.

Tescos and the 5p carry bags for help fund has three new projects this period voting started this week, all three projects will win funding its up to you to decide which project gets the biggest grant fund and which gets the middle value and the lowest make sure you get your blue token every time you shop and cast your vote all three are worthy candidates and all three are local the three projects for this period are hendy school, friends of coed bach and llangennech scouts hall please show support for your favourite project

Please vote for the Friends of Coed Bach Park.
Thank You.

February March April Update.

2017 is zipping along at an alarming rate of knots. One moment you are celebrating Christmas and New year, and the next you are looking back with a feeling that Christmas was only two weeks ago but in reality it was a lot longer than that!

Since the beginning of the New Year the Park is absolutely thriving with activity taking place on an almost daily basis. The Our Place team are super busy in the Park for four days a week and the volunteers are up there whenever possible, and of course we have a new park manager who along with his team of guys are working flat out to improve the park wherever they can.

Awards

On Friday 24^th March three members of the FOCBP Christine Thomas, Windsor Clarke and Martin Hanson were invited to attend a presentation evening in the Pontarddulais Institute to receive certificates and a cheque for £200. Also in attendance were other organisations based in Pontarddulais who also received cheques and several individual awards were given to people who had made a huge difference to the town.
We would also like to take this opportunity to Thank the Town Council for their help and support over the last few years.

Bike Path

Members of the FOCBP are backing a scheme to run a bike path from Pontarddulais and connect it to Grovesend/Gorseinon more info can be found below.

https://sustrans.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/walesrdp-stakeholder-pontarddulais

Scouts

On Saturday 18^th March members of the 4^th Lliw Valley Pontarddulais Scouts Group joined FOCBP members in planting some new trees and shrubs at the newly repaired Coed Bach entrance.

Thank You all for your help and we hope you enjoyed getting your hands muddy.

Coed Bach Entrance

After being in a bit of a sorry state Swansea City Council were able to get a team out to the Coed Bach entrance and straighten the gates up and replaced the old fence with a brand spanking new one.

The approach from Coed Bach road now looks better and you now also have a better view into the park itself. The volunteers will look at adding a splash of colour to this area, and come the warmer weather the park will look even more of of an inviting sight especially as the wildflowers patch is near this entrance, the view should be superb.

The Park management team have also taken some time out of their busy schedules to help improve the service road that runs around the football fields to the Coed Bach entrance as in parts it was getting muddy and people were getting stuck with prams and power chairs.

The effect of the clearance is that while it can be a bit rough underfoot (It has always been the same) it is less muddy and drainage is a lot better than before. Once the loose stones bed in to the ground it will be even better to walk on. And more people will be able to get to other parts of the park that previously they were unable to access.

We give a big THANK YOU to Kelvin the Park manager and his team for all the help they have given to us since they have come into the park.

Photo by Kelvin Carpenter

Our Place Team

The Our Place Team based at the Canolfan y Bont have been working full tilt in the park since the beginning of the new year.

As usual they are continually topping up the woodchip pathways around the woodland areas, and despite some bad weather turning parts of the pathways into mud the team manage to persevere and patch up the worst bits.

It is also fantastic to see people taking time out of their walks to stop and chat to the team members and they take the time to get to know the service users and make them feel welcome in the park, and some even let the guys have a play and pet of their dogs. This is community at its finest.

The big project since February has been to construct a wigwam/tipi on the pathway running between the edge of 2^nd woods and the show field.

This project has been a huge hit with the children of Pitter Patter Nursery on Dulais road who are now visiting the park on an almost daily basis. And of course children exploring the woodlands while out on walks with mums and dads and grandparents are all making the most of it, which again is fantastic to see.

The Lord Mayor of Swansea David Hopkins and Councillor Beverley Hopkins visited the park on Wednesday 15^th March to meet volunteers and Our Place team members. During his visit the Lord Mayor took the opportunity to plant some new trees and the visited the wigwam/tipi to officially open it.

And we were delighted to see some regular park users in the tipi enjoying a picnic in the afternoon sunlight. The mayor took his time and spoke to all members of the teams concerned with the park and thanked everybody for all their efforts.

The Our Place team members have also placed two wooden benches in the 2^nd woods by the Friendship tree, this should be a fantastic place to sit once the Bluebells come into full bloom.

The current project is to build a small picket fence around the Helibores/Crocus patch which is near the wooden bridge that takes you towards the show field.
And the team even found time to plant some new trees around several locations in the park.

 All Tipi/Wigwam photos Sian Thomas.

PTFC

Following the planting of crocus bulbs by FOCBP members and members of the public and Football teams a few months back.

The letters P T F C came into bloom on the bank of the upper and lower field.

PCSO's

And of course we have to give thanks to our superb team of PCSO's working in Pontarddulais. Matthew and Hayley are in the park as often as they can be keeping an eye on any potential problems, and occasionally are fed information by members of the public and FOCBP members who are keeping an eye out for any naughty activities that occasionally take place in the Park.

We have always had a great relationship with them and we give them a Huge THANK YOU! For all their efforts in these difficult financial times.

We look forward to our next chat over a cuppa.

UPDATE

A few weeks ago a group of youths decided that the park was their own personal racecourse for their motorbikes, several members of the public and volunteers were in the park during this incident and were able to contact the Police with information regarding the riders. We have been informed the youths were spoken to and next time their bikes are seen anywhere near the park they will be removed from their care.

All images SWPSwansea Twitter Account

AGM

The yearly AGM meeting will be held at Pontarddulais Cricket Club on Wednesday 26^th April 2017 and will commence at 7.30pm. We are looking for fresh volunteers, we need new ideas, we need more people to help.

Like any group you can only exist for so long and if nothing changes then one day it could all come to an end, and then what.........?

Please! Please! Come and join us we need your help to take the Park forward not only for our future, but that of your children and Grandchildren.

 As usual you can follow our FB and Twitter Links and you can email us at the address at the top of this blog or you can contact us via our social media sites.

Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/550777668395584/

Twitter.
https://twitter.com/FOCBP?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Until our next Blog Update Have Fun In The Park.

Green Flag Award

August got off to the best possible start when Coed Bach Park was awarded a Community Green Flag Award.
It was presented by the Keep Wales Tidy Green Flag Award team this afternoon at Singleton Park Botanical Gardens.

Group founder member Christine Thomas also won another award for Volunteer of the Year.

Lewis Price from the Our Place team based at Canolfan y Bont proudly collected the Flag Award on the behalf of not only our group but the Pontarddulais Partnership and the Our Place team.

WELL DONE and a HUGE THANK YOU to everybody involved in helping us get this award.

You know who you all are and we share this award with you as your help over the last few years has been vital.

A Poem About Coed Bach Park by Lucia Crothall.

FOCBP member.

We can all have a lark 

in Bont’s Coed Bach Park

Give the kids a good play,

Set them up for the day.

Hear them laugh, cry and shout, 

Leave yourself in no doubt

They will have so much fun

That when all’s said and done 

We can all have a lark

in Bont’s Coed Bach Park.

Go for a run 

Or just sit in the sun.

Take control of the ball - 

Drive that tackle - don’t fall!

Or look up to the leaves

On those old wizened trees - 

We can all have a lark

in Bont’s Coed Bach Park

Give the dog a good walk,

Take your friend for a talk.

Spend moments in thought

Get that baggage you brought

Out into fresh air.

Free yourself of all care – 

We can all have a lark

in Bont’s Coed Bach Park

Spot a bird, smell a flower

Feel a grass, find a bower

See a dragon fly poise

Far away from the noise

Of the traffic of town

And those fights for renown - 

We can all have a lark

in Bont’s Coed Bach Park

2014 Carnival

Saturday 28th June saw FOTP and Pontarddulais Partnership join forces and have our first Carnival float.
Lot's of people to thank.......and you all know who you all are we hope you had a great time.
And a very big Thank You to Gareth from N. Thomas and sons contractor Haulage for their time and use of the Lorry.

This years theme 'A Walk In The Park'

'Thank You' Gareth.

Pond Survey

Please see attached poster designed to invite you to want to come next Tuesday at 10pm to help Mark do another survey of the ponds.

I know for some of you this is just impossible with work and care committments but you might know of someone else who may be interested so if you do please pass this email on to them.

We aim to meet at the tennis courts pavilion 10pm and I will make sure the Park Gates are open but I will need to know who is coming and have a telephone contact number just in case it is called off at the last minute because it will not be happening if it is actually raining at 10pm.

Click on image to enlarge.

Wood Removal

It has been noticed over the last few days that wood has been taken from around the cleared boating lake area in the 2nd woods.
This wood is intended for use within the park area only and it is an offence to take it without permission.
As a result we the Friends Of Coed Bach are keeping an eye around this area and will be reporting any vehicles that are parked suspiciously in the area of the lake. We are also asking members of the public to be vigilant and report any suspicious behaviour to the number on the top of the screen or to the police.
Please do not approach anyone you see taking anything as we do not want anyone to become involved in a confrontation.
We are aware that whoever is taking the wood may be unaware that they are committing theft, but they need to be aware of what they are doing.

Thank you for your help.

Seasonal Ponds Phase 2 17/2/14

It was a wet muddy one today but that did not stop us from getting stuck into the old victorian boating lake in the park.
Work continues tomorrow.

Click on images to enlarge
All images also on our Flickr page link at top of homepage.