‘Green walls’ have been installed on two council-owned buildings in Cardiff to improve air quality and biodiversity in areas where there is little or no green space.
The Ivy filled screens, which help to remove harmful pollution from the air, and support a wide range of native pollinators by providing them with hibernation sites and a source of winter food, have been fitted to Dusty Forge Community Centre in Ely and Kitchener Primary School in Canton. Additional climbing plants including honeysuckle, clematis, and sweet peas will be added to the screens through the year, enhancing the benefits to biodiversity.
Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure, Cllr Peter Bradbury, said: “These green walls will provide valuable support for wildlife, and studies have shown that they can also help improve local air quality.
“Urban Green Infrastructure projects of this kind can help us achieve the aims of our Clean Air Strategy, and will play an important role as we continue on our journey towards becoming a One Planet Cardiff, taking action to meet the twin challenges of the climate and biodiversity crises we’re currently facing.”
Funding for the ‘walls’ has been secured through the Welsh Government ‘Local Places for Nature’ programme by Cardiff’s newly established Local Nature Partnership.
An air quality monitoring programme is being implemented to measure the impact of the walls on air quality, and a citizen science project aimed at engaging with the local community and monitoring changes in biodiversity is also being developed, in partnership with the Wildlife Trust.
Other partners involved with the project at Dusty Forge include Action in Caerau and Ely (ACE) and Grow Cardiff
