March Update

March has been a very quiet month activity wise for us in the park. 
Our Volunteers have been out and about where possible sorting out some of the pathways throughout the woodland areas which were made boggy in the rain we have had since the end of last year. Also service users and the Neat team are still present in the park helping us out on a few minor jobs around the place.
And of course we have people working behind the scenes on Volunteer training programmes and looking for funding. So while it appears nothing is being done in the park itself rest assured we never stop.



Cats Update.

Around Christmas time the community was shocked to hear the news that a box of shaved cats had been dumped by the tennis courts and left to die.
The great news is that the pregnant cat gave birth to a healthy litter of kittens and all the cats have now been re-homed.
We thank Haven vets in Llanelli for keeping us up to date with their progress.

Scouts.

The Pontarddulais scouts (4th Lliw Valley) also came over the park for a twilight survey to see how much wildlife there was in the park and by the sounds of it there was plenty of bugs and other creatures to spot during the survey. (Photos Rebecca Routelidge)

Easter Egg Hunt.

One of the service user providers based at the Canolfan Y Bont 'Our Place' held an Easter Egg hunt in the woodlands they have been working in.
I don't know who had more fun, us hiding the eggs or the team racing to find them.
The team visit the park a few times a week so if you see them please say "Hello" as you walk past.

Look for the Super Hero.

One of our members found a Black and Gold Spiderman in the park and has been relocating him in various places around the park.
If you have any young kids you can play a game of 'Spot Spidey' as we will move him around the park and give you clues as where to find him on our Facebook Page.
(Also note he is only a little fella otherwise it would be way too easy to spot him :-)

Competition.

Our photo competition is still running so please feel free to submit any images you have taken of Coed Bach Park.

Wildlife.

Wildlife continues to flourish throughout the park.

(Images by Joanne Puddefoot and Brian Lloyd)

Other News.

Sadly someone has vandalised the Mushroom display by the Boardwalk and stolen one.

This display was built by the Neat team that helped build the walkway. If you know where it is please let us know. (You can contact us through our FB page or the email at the top of this blog.)

Also we have noticed an increase in people not picking up dog poo around the second woods area.

Volunteers are running out of their own bags as they have so much mess to pick up caused by irresponsible dog walkers who either do not care or think that the woodland areas are exempt from dog fouling laws.

The whole park is not only a public park which anyone can use but also it falls under dog fouling laws that can lead up to a £1000 fine if you are caught not picking up.

Our Twitter page (https://twitter.com/FOCBP) is running a 'Thank you' campaign against dog fouling.

We also ask that if you see anything or you have an unpleasant situation in the park to contact the Police on 101 for non emergency situations and 999 if you are being threatened or if something is being damaged.

Unfortunately things do happen from time to time and the FOCBP are only volunteers who's job it is to see to the park and keep an eye on the place.

We do not create the park rules nor do we run it so we cannot be held responsible if an incident occurs and it goes unreported by the victim. If you wish to contact us use the email at the top of this blog and we will assist you as best we can.
Also moaning about things on Social media helps no one. And if we all work together we can make the park a better place for everybody so please do your part.

As usual our Monthly meetings are held on the last Wednesday of everymonth over the Pontarddulais Cricket Club at 7.30pm please feel free to visit for a chat.

February Roundup

Hooray!!!!!!!! It stopped raining (for now) but now the park is drying itself out, however we are left with muddy patches in several parts of the pathways through the woodland areas.
Luckily we have volunteers on the case and work has begun to return the pathways to their former glory.
And we also thank Andrew and his team from Our Place with their help in putting things right.
But it all takes time so please be patient as we go about our work, and we advise if you are walking through the woodlands to use sensible walking shoes or wellies.
The worst affected areas are around the second woods near the Rugby pitch towards the Friendship tree area.

But on the good side Spring is showing the first signs of new life in the park with the Bluebells starting to poke through the ground.
Unfortunately the weather has been mild and the plant life seems to be coming through a little early and also the added wet weather meant we could not cut back as much undergrowth as we usually do so we will have to wait to see what kind of display we have this year.

Bluebells Grass

The springlike weather has been great for the animals and birds that use the park and the woodlands are full of birdsong and the sounds of cuckoos can be heard on a regular basis. And one of our regular park users has photographed a Stoat at home in the undergrowth.

Goldfinch. Photo Brian Lloyd

This February's issue of the SA4 Magazine has a large article written by myself about what the park has meant to me over the years. (It really is a riveting read even if I do say so myself.)
We are looking for peoples stories about the park and if you know anyone who would like to submit an article or help you write it, you can contact us at the email at the top of this blog.


Working closely with the local PCSO's over the last few years has led us to having a great relationship with our local police force, and whenever we get the chance FOCBP members bring them up to speed on events and what we are up to in the park ourselves.

Myself and PCSO Collins 

As usual we hold our meetings on the last Wednesday of every month in Pontarddulais Cricket Club at 7.30pm and everyone is welcome to join us.

We have heard of two wheelchair users being able to access the Boardwalk in the last few weeks and this is fantastic to hear. And several people from other areas around Swansea heard about the Seasonal pond and have visited us to have a look at the work we have done.


Our FB page is in full flight as is our Twitter feed (Links at the top of this Blog.)

We hope to hear from you soon.

January Roundup

Will this rain ever cease!

January 2016 has certainly been a very wet month for everybody and our park has become a muddy quagmire over the last few months.
Pathways have become boggy and muddy, water everywhere and even the seasonal pond has been overflowing practically every day since November, even one or two trees have toppled over.
However a little rain cannot stop the FOCBP and other organisations from getting our heads down and carrying on.

Our friends from the NEAT team are still working in the park, this time they are helping us on the BMX track project which has been laid out and is now being constructed, and they have also been involved with clearing pathways around the football pitches and second woodland areas of the park.
These will be tidied up in due course and hopefully it will make things better and easier under foot for everyone once the park dries out.
The team have also dug a trench alongside the pathway into second woods from near the Rugby pitch entrance. This is to help with drainage issues in that area.
If you are using the park we advise sensible walking footwear and to be careful as it is slippery underfoot with all the mud. But the main pathways are ok underfoot.

BMX Track

BMX Track

Cleared walkway Bottom Football Field

Drainage and Hardcore for pathway access

NEAT Team at work

Our volunteers have been out cutting back the brambles in the second woods to help with the Bluebells, but again the weather has slowed us up, and the milder climate seems to be helping one or two plants that don't normally grow at this time of year start to flower and bud early.
So we have our fingers crossed that we are going to be able to get to any undergrowth just in case the bluebells decide to put on an early show.


Access to the boardwalk has been improved as volunteers have made a concrete step which should help any wheelchair users get on to it a bit easier. As there was a slight step up originally.
All we need now is for the pathways to dry sufficiently to improve access overall.

No more step up on to the Boardwalk

Other News

We had a very disturbing case of animal cruelty in the park and many people were shocked to hear the news of these three poor shaved cats.

(click on the links to display stories)

http://www.llanellistar.co.uk/Llanelli-vets-appeal-cats-shaved-abandoned-park/story-28534832-detail/story.html

But we have recently been informed that they are now on their way to new homes.

http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/New-home-cats-shaved-whiskers-chopped-dumped-park/story-28616801-detail/story.html


And we have received a nice message of support from Welsh AM Rebecca Evans, after several of FOCBP attended a meeting with City and County of Swansea Councillors at the Brangwyn Hall who recognised the impact our group was making within our own community following on from our Fields in Trust Award.

http://www.rebeccaevans4gower.com/latest-news/rebecca-evans-congratulates-coed-bach-park

But as usual we need more volunteers to come forward to help us carry the FOCBP into the future. If you have anything to offer please contact us as we would love to hear from you. And of course we would welcome you with open arms.
Monthly meetings are held on the last Wednesday of every month at 7.30pm at the Pontarddulais Cricket Club.

Phil Davies from Keep Wales Tidy has moved onto pastures new and welcome his replacement Kathryn Britton.
We would like to thank Phil for all his efforts over the last few years and we will miss him.

We currently have a few members of our team writing monthly articles for the SA4 Magazine which you can find in most public places throughout the Swansea area. But we need more Coed Bach Park related articles from you.
If you would like to help contribute please contact us through our email (top of this blog) or via our other social media sites as we would love to discuss any ideas with you.

As usual we are on Facebook and Twitter and to find us you can click on the tabs at the top of this blog.

Hope to hear from you soon.

December Roundup

We kicked the month off by winning another award at the Fields in Trust award ceremony held in London.
This year we won for getting active on a Fields In Trust site. Which was fantastic result for our team as we have been very busy in the park through out the year and it is a great reward for all our members hard work.
This year Windsor Clarke accepted the reward on behalf of the group.

Windsor at the Fit ceremony

Also this month the Neat team has returned to help with the construction of the new BMX track which is being extended along side the current track. Pupils of Pontarddulais Comprehensive will soon be joining them to help out.

And we are now having articles published in the SA4 magazine which you can find in various places throughout the Swansea area.
We are looking for people to come forward to help us write the articles and if you know of anyone or are interested yourself please contact us at the email or phone number at the top of this blog.

Following on from the Friendship Tree tagging event a few weeks back the tree has become a focal point in the second woods with plenty of people stopping off and reading the tags.
We even found out who the tree originally belonged to (but if you want to know more you need to follow us on FB.)

As usual we are busy as ever on our Twitter and Facebook pages, if you would like to join us there please feel free as we always like to hear about peoples experiences around the park.

We would also like to take this opportunity to wish everybody a Happy New Year and we at FOCBP thank you for your continuing support.

Friendship Tree

This year we grew a bigger crowd to the tagging of the Friendship tree in second woods.
150 tags were placed on the tree by group members and members of the public who came along to support this event.
We would like to thank everybody that gave a donation to have the tags displayed on the tree and each message is personal to every individual that left a message which makes it all the more special.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Thank You.

We at Friends of Coed Bach Park would like to thank the following companies that have been kind enough to donate materials to our project over the last few weeks.

Ark Fencing who not only supplied the wood to build the boardwalk but also kindly donated the bench.
http://www.arksupplies.co.uk/

B&Q Gorseinon store for donating plants and bulbs for our recently installed planters.
http://www.diy.com/store/gorseinon/BQ_GOR205


And Pontarddulais Garden Centre for also supplying us with plants and bulbs for the planters and other parts of the park.
http://www.pontarddulaisgardencentre.co.uk/

We would not be able to carry out some of the work we are doing in the park without the kind generosity of these stores.

!!!Thank You Everybody!!!

From the Focbp

November Roundup

The big news this month is of course the Seasonal Pond Boardwalk has been completed.
The NEAT team faced more difficulties than they originally expected, but they got the job done. Since it has opened it has become quite the attraction in the park with a lot of people commenting how great it is.
There are one or two little tidying up jobs to do around the area but the weather is delaying this at the moment. And as soon as we get the chance we will be straight in there.
We also give a huge thank you to ARK Fencing who provided the wood for this project and also kindly donated a wooden bench for people to sit on.

Planters have been placed by the Coed Bach and Gwynfryn rd entrances to the park and we are in the process of deciding what to place in them.

Work parties have resumed this month with several teams of volunteers clearing overgrown areas by the Coed Bach entrance and other areas around the park.
And of course litter picks are ongoing.

This month also saw an exhibition of the FOCBP Christmas tree tags and work we have done in the park being displayed at the Pontarddulais Library.
We thank Gaynor for her effort in setting this up for us as it does take a lot of time and planning to hold such a thing.

We finished this month off by holding a stall at the Pontarddulais Comprehensive Winter Fayre. Thank you to everybody who turned up to help run the stall. It was all worthwhile.

This year we decided not to produce any Calendars and have instead produced Christmas cards. These are for sale throughout Pontarddulais and can also be purchased directly from us for £4.50 for a pack of 10.
If you want to know where you can purchase the cards you can contact us through our Facebook page (link at the top of this page.)

There will be no monthly meeting in December as we have decided to head for the nearest pub instead to hold our annual FOCBP Christmas party.
But we will of course keep you informed across our social media sites on any park news as it happens.