Cae Tŷ Du Project
A piece of land (Cae Tŷ Du) was donated to Cynwyd Council by a local business in the village. The land is situated behind a small council housing estate in the rural village of Cynwyd. When the land was donated to the community it was overgrown and full of rubbish and until recently nothing had been done on the site. There were a few ideas being banded around the village as to what to do with the land. So to find out what the community wanted, members of Cymdeithas Tai Clwyd’s Community Development Team held an open consultation session. By the end of the session, most people agreed that they would like to see a community garden and play area for the children. After this, a properly constituted group consisting of members of the local community (both young and old) was set up to carry out the project.
The group, including the children, have worked hard on the land and the children have spent hours playing and working there already. The project has had a huge impact on the lives of the children. They have learnt new skills as they’ve been actively involved in every step of the project. For example, they’ve helped with planting shrubs and trees (that attract wildlife), weeding and building dry-stone walls etc. They also had a role in the planning stage by helping to choose the play equipment and the layout of the site. Some of the older children are even active members of the committee! The project has been very successful as the children have learnt so much and they’ve thoroughly enjoyed working on the land. It has provided a safe area for the children to play and work and will help alleviate boredom by keeping them away from the streets, therefore having a positive effect on crime and anti-social behaviour.
The project was completed in September 2006.
