Our communities are incredible places. Across Gwynedd there are people who are bursting with that get-stuff-done energy, creative people full of amazing ideas and enthusiasm and a good dollop of elbow grease too. People who don’t shy away from a bit of hard work if it gets things done and makes things happen.
Have you heard of Ynni Padarn Peris? It is a micro-hydro scheme on the Afon Goch River in Llanberis, and it was funded by the local community. The renewable energy initiative now generates an annual income of £10,000, and it is all invested back into the local community.
As spring blooms all around us, what better time to mention Incredible Edible Rhiwlas, a movement that’s all about food. Their aim is to find as many places as possible to grow food in Rhiwlas and get growing. Everyone is welcome to get involved. Their wonderful moto is; ‘if you eat, you’re in’!
Over in Dyffryn Nantlle Yr Orsaf puts on a coding club for children and young people, and during one recent session they connected wires and batteries to bananas so that you could ‘play the piano’ on the banana! Brilliant and bonkers! There is also a repair café, where you can call in with any of your broken property for repair (instead of constantly buying new), and in the coming weeks Yr Orsaf will be launching an electric bike scheme – a plethora of activity.
Bro Ffestiniog has lots of things going on, including a really cool community fridge. Local supermarkets donate the food that can’t be on the shelves the next day for free to the fridge, so anyone in the area can pop in and pick up something from the fridge. Y Dref Werdd in Blaenau has developed a glade in the local woods where they hold well-being sessions, and other local community groups can host their activities there, such as the Ti a Fi sessions for parents and children, where they host a forest school session and play amongst the trees!
Did you know that Bethesda’s Rugby Club is one of Wales’ largest carbon neutral sport venues? It has solar panels, LED lights, and top notch insulation. The valley also has it’s own renewable energy venture; Ynni Ogwen. Ynni Ogwen captures the power from the flow of the Ogwen river to produce Electrical energy from Hydro technology. The profit gained from the venture funds other environmental and community projects in the Ogwen Valley.
Further west in Pen Llŷn where the roads are windy and the views spectacular there are now a number of ways to travel without setting off in your own car including the Fflecsi Llŷn bus. The bus operates between Pwllheli and Aberdaron and everywhere inbetween on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays from 9am to 6pm. You can book your journey in advance over the phone or via the Fflecsi Llŷn app. A great way to travel and take in the views, save money on petrol and let someone else take the wheel for a change!
That’s just a quick snapshot of some of the amazing things happening across Gwynedd. There are many, many more. So just imagine what we could create if we spent a bit of time together at our local Community Assemblies on the Climate, learning more about climate change and climate solutions, and spending that time together to think and re-image a greener, better future…
It’s there – within our reach. Be a part of it now and get involved with so many exciting projects in your community. To register an interest to take part in your local Community Assembly on the Climate visit www.gwyrddni.cymru/en/taking-part