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The College Ystrad Mynach now has a dedicated group of young adults interested in green issues linked to the local environment.

The students who are all following A Levels alongside the Welsh Baccalaureate have organised many activities to improve their local area to cover the community participation module of the Welsh Bac.  First on their list was a regeneration project of the cemetery attached to Bethania Chapel on Twyn Road.  The group of 8 students have worked on the grounds every Wednesday afternoon for 14 weeks clearing pathways, cutting down overgrown brambles and felling trees that covered the graves. Students also developed a plan of the cemetery and researched the history of the gravestones.  Finding the grave of a war hero Richard Williams whose plane crashed during the WWII they held a service of remembrance on Armistice Day.

Working with Keep Wales Tidy and the Tidy Towns Officer for Caerphilly John Bell, students have undertaken litter-pick around the parameters of The College, Ystrad Mynach Park and the stream which runs alongside the college – collecting 10 large bags of rubbish.   Not the type of group to think once a job is completed that the problem has been solved they have pledged to continue their litter-picks throughout the academic year.

“The presence of the College has a huge impact on the local community and we know that improving our immediate area can only improve the image of the students with the local residents” said Alison Shacklady Head of School for General Education.  “By our students engaging in community projects such as the work with Keep Wales Tidy it gives them ownership and also makes them feel part of the wider community of Ystrad Mynach.  The students have been pivotal in deciding on the projects that they undertake and have deliberately chosen an area that was close to the college.  The group will now widen its activities to include a ‘Dig for Victory’ allotment in the spring.”