CoedUNO. An update from us.

Uniting people & woodlands.

Thanks to funding from the National Forest of Wales and the Pembrokeshire Nature Partnership, we’ve launched a brilliant new initiative to help people connect more with the trees and forests of Wales.

A couple of weeks back, just as the weather was getting better, we had a wonderful afternoon, with the children of Ysgol Clydau who joined us at the Hwb Dysgu'r Tir site in Tegryn for a hands-on, muddy session planting a willow ‘fedge’ - a fence-hedge hybrid that will grow into a natural barrier over time.

We kicked things off with hearing from these fabulous young brain boxes. “What do you think about willow? Why is it good?” we asked. The kids were full of top draw answers: “It’s beautiful!” “It’s free!” “It’s great for wildlife!” “You can use it for crafts!” “It has acid in it!” (Yes, indeed, clever clogs!)

Then it was time to get planting. Every child got stuck in, carefully putting willow cuttings into the soil, row by row. Once everything was in place, they got busy mulching, wheeling barrows of cardboard, soil, and woodchips to tuck the new plants in snugly. We loved seeing how naturally they shared the wheelbarrows and helped each other out. Such teamwork!

We don’t yet have the best tap on the field, but that didn’t faze anybody that day. They found rainwater from our old bath, and made sure the mulch was properly soaked.

To round off the day, we asked, “Stand on this side if you’ve learnt something today!” Every single welly-booted child ran to the right side of the willow, eager to shout out what they’d discovered.

A massive thank you to everyone who made this happen! Special shoutout to Dina Kingsnorth from Patch of the Planet for leading the day and to Sophie from Hwb Dysgu'r Tir team for sharing her knowledge about our local woodlands.

And now, we have a beautiful new fedge , a natural barrier that will grow and evolve over time, just like the connections we’re building between people and the land. Can’t wait for the next one!