A cherished woodland in Talgarth is now part of the National Forest for Wales, following a programme of access and conservation improvements.
Park Wood, cared for by Coed Cadw, the Woodland Trust in Wales, has benefited from new and improved paths, step repairs and wider site enhancements made possible through The Woodland Investment Grant (TWIG), helping make the woodland more welcoming and accessible for visitors while supporting wildlife and outdoor learning.
TWIG is delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with the Welsh Government’s National Forest for Wales Programme.
The work has also created valuable opportunities for students from Black Mountains College, who have been working on site to help clear paths, repair steps and use timber from the woodland itself in practical conservation projects that build their land-based skills.
A new more accessible path has been introduced at the site and has already been well received by visitors. The new path is 1.3 km.
Alongside improving access, work at Park Wood has also helped strengthen the site’s ecological value. Black Mountains College students have supported woodland management activity including the thinning of beech woodland, with early signs of positive impact for nature.
Jed Needs, lecturer at Black Mountains College, said, “Working at Park Wood has given students the chance to develop real, practical land management skills in a live setting, while contributing to something with lasting value for the local community and the woodland itself. It’s been especially encouraging to see how habitat work on site is already supporting wildlife, while materials from the woodland have also been put to good use in new learning spaces beyond the wood itself.”
As part of the project, students have also helped co-design new orientation materials and leaflets for the site, which are expected to be in place by May, helping more people understand, explore and enjoy Park Wood.
The woodland management work has already produced encouraging results for biodiversity; woodland thinning work has coincided with the return of wood warblers and pied flycatchers to the site.
In another example of circular, place-based learning, wood from Douglas firs felled from Park Wood has also been reused by students to create a new library at Black Mountains College’s new campus and learning area in the old school building.
Kylie Jones-Mattock from Coed Cadw said, “The improvements made through this project have helped make the site more accessible and welcoming, while supporting the careful management needed for wildlife and the woodland’s future health. Our work with Black Mountains College has been a particularly rewarding part of the project, giving students hands-on experience and showing how practical conservation can create real benefits for both communities and nature.”
By becoming part of the National Forest for Wales, Park Wood joins a growing nationwide network of well-managed, publicly accessible woodland sites that are being cared for the benefit of communities, nature and future generations.
