This project is a follow-on project to the one in the Upper Cynon Valley, which we supported in 2020 with a grant of £49,242. The award allowed the organisation to engage the local communities residing alongside and close to the northern reaches of the River Cynon (and its tributaries such as the Dare) in the value of the river. They engaged over a thousand primary school children in the county in three years, with rivers and their wildlife and trained over 50 volunteers in an accredited river fly qualification. They also trained over thirty volunteers in river restoration and mentored and aided at least five volunteers to progress with their careers in the conservation sector. The project has been high profile due to otters now being active in river (reported on BBC and ITV) and having the support of Iolo Williams.
The new Afon Rhondda project is also match funded by The National Lottery and focusses on three main principles: Volunteering, Education, and meaningful Community Engagement to improve and enhance the biodiversity of the river Rhondda and the community’s awareness of the value of their river over the next 3 years.
Volunteering – They aim to improve and enhance the skills and opportunities of their volunteers by offering them training and qualifications in exchange for their time volunteering on the project.
Education – They will re-engage the local communities, particularly young people with the rivers and their wildlife by working with schools, colleges, and universities. Delivering workshops and training about the river and its wildlife.
Community Engagement – They will host a series of public events including walks, river clean-ups, nature-themed family fun days throughout the catchment re-engaging communities with their river again. They will train volunteers and members of the local community to become citizen scientists, kick sampling and monitoring water quality independently, taking stewardship of their local stretches of the river and understanding how the scientific data they have collected will be submitted, and used nationally.
“We are dedicated to supporting environmental projects, and we are thrilled to see the many advantages of this project, such as chances for the community to be healthy, active, and involved, outdoor activity programs, educational use of the environment, larger scale conservation management, and opportunities for lifelong learning that inspire aspirations.” – Kate Breeze, Pen y Cymoedd