Get set for half-term fun with MonLife!

MonLife has put together a programme of exciting activities for children, young people and families to enjoy this February school half-term.

The Monmouthshire Games are returning, providing a great chance to learn new skills, develop confidence, meet new people and most importantly have fun through sport. The week-long programme runs from Monday 20^th to Friday 24th February and is hosted across the county’s leisure centres (Abergavenny, Caldicot, Chepstow and Monmouth). Follow the link for more information and the booking form – www.monlife.co.uk/monactive/childrens-activities/the-monmouthshire-games/

At Monmouth leisure centre there is the indoor play centre, featuring an exciting three-storey, action-packed climbing maze, featuring a unique beat the clock timing system. There’s also a designated (enclosed) toddler area. The play centre is open seven days a week (except bank holidays) between 10am and 5.30pm and is suitable for ages – babies and toddlers (0-3), young children (4-8) and older children (9-11). Please note due to a private booking the play centre is closed to the public Saturday 18^th and 25^thFebruary between 4pm-6pm.

There’s also plenty of fun for all the family in the leisure centres’ pools with some amazing sessions to keep you or your children entertained. Find out more: Swimming – MonLife Holiday Activities

There is lots of free fun to be had at MonLife Museums. Follow the play trails at Abergavenny and Chepstow museums, play dress up at Shire Hall Museum in Monmouth and get creative with our chalkboards, market stall and ‘crack the crime’ games. Children can also could also cook something up at Abergavenny Museum’s Mud Kitchen and play in the grounds with special backpacks filled with fun things to do outdoors, toys and games.

Youngsters can also go undercover at Shire Hall in Monmouth, and at Chepstow and Abergavenny museums, and test their detective skills as part of the national Montgomery Bonbon: Museum Mystery Trail, organised by Kids in Museums and Walker Books. The trail celebrates the release of new children’s book Montgomery Bonbon: Murder at the Museum written by comedian Alasdair Beckett-King and illustrated by Claire Powell. So why not visit Monmouthshire’s museums over half-term and join the free fun. To find out museum opening hours visit: www.monlife.co.uk/heritage/

MonLife will be also be holding free Stay and Play sessions where children and families will have the opportunity to freely choose from lots of activities including physical play, arts and crafts, den building or wherever their imagination takes them. The sessions are taking place at Raglan Old Church School on the 21^st February between: 10am-noon; Shire Hall, Monmouth on the 21^st February between 1:30pm-3:30pm; Magor Scouts and Guides Hut on the 23^rd February between 10am-noon; Deri View Primary School on the 23^rd February between 1:30pm-3:30pm. Please note that parental supervision is required for children under the age of 11. Book now via the following form: https://forms.office.com/e/w38MZvNMGp

MonLife will also be holding FREE Active Play sessions at Abergavenny, Chepstow, Caldicot and Monmouth during February half term. Mon Life Active Play programme is 1 hours and 55 minutes where children aged 5-11 can be left with our highly trained and experienced playworkers and choose from a range of activities to play including physical play, arts and crafts, archery or wherever their imagination takes them. These sessions are now fully booked.

Youth centres across the county will also be open on certain days for young people to visit. They’re a safe space for young people to access, where they can take part in activities, hang out and meet new friends, supported by qualified and registered Youth Workers. The Attik, Monmouth, will be open Tuesday 21st between 3-5pm, Wednesday 22nd between 3pm and 8pm and Friday 24th between 3pm and 6pm. The Cabin, Abergavenny will be open Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd February, 3pm-8pm and Friday 24^th, 3pm-6pm. The Zone, Caldicot will be open on Tuesday 21st 2pm-8pm and ‘The Pav’ youth centre in Thornwell, Chepstow, will be open on Tuesday 21st between 2pm and 8pm and Friday 24th February 2pm-7pm.

Full details of what happening over half term can be found here: www.monlifeholidayactivities.co.uk/activities/

Monmouthshire’s Youth Service gears up for successful 2023 after receiving Welsh Government accolade

MonLife’s award-winning Youth Service is gearing up for another successful year after recently securing a Bronze Quality Mark for Youth Work in Wales.

The Youth Service received the Welsh Government accolade following a week-long assessment of its services in October 2022, with the award officially given on the 17^th of November 2022.

The Quality Mark is awarded to organisations and service providers who meet a range of criteria as set out by gold, silver and bronze standards and supports the aims and objectives of the ‘Youth Work Strategy for Wales.’ The Quality Mark is regarded as being the only system available in Wales that can meet a profession-specific set of standards.

Assessment for the award focuses on:

Performance management
Quality of youth work practice
Young people’s learning and development
Legal requirements

Following the assessment, MonLife’s Youth Service was recognised for its work in developing positive relationships with young people, helping promote learning and achievement, and for providing opportunities which are educative, empowering, participative, inclusive and expressive, and extends their knowledge, skills and understanding.

The team and its services were also regarded as having a clear vision and strategy for young people, having a plan to measure the impact and effectiveness of its services and ensuring all work with young people is linked with local and national policies.

The accolade comes as the Youth Service gears up for an ambitious 2023, with the key focus on ensuring young people from 11 to 25 years old can develop holistically through a range of activities and opportunities. This work includes the delivery of youth clubs, youth centres, school holiday provision, the Shift project which supports young people’s mental health and emotional wellbeing, participation work including Engage 2 Change (Monmouthshire’s youth council) and LGBTQ+ support including ‘Equality Street’ – an award-winning service.

Cabinet Member for Inclusive and Active Communities, Cllr Sara Burch said: “Our youth services are a fundamental part of ensuring young people are given opportunities to help them learn new things, form new relationships, expand their minds and in turn thrive as members of our community. I am delighted the excellent work carried out by MonLife’s Youth Service has been recognised and I look forward to seeing these excellent programmes welcome more young people over the coming year.”

Cllr Martyn Groucutt, Cabinet Member for Education added: “Education and learning opportunities for our young people certainly do not stop at the classroom door, and youth services play a key role in giving our younger generations a well-rounded experience within our communities. This award further demonstrates our commitment to providing young people with every possible chance at being the best version of themselves. Well done to all involved.”

For further information on MonLife’s Youth Services, visit: https://www.monlife.co.uk/connect/youth-service/

Visitor to Caldicot leisure centre returns to thank those who helped save his life

A visitor to Caldicot leisure centre recently returned to thank the centre’s staff for their quick response when he suffered a potentially fatal medical emergency earlier in the year. Alan Owen of Carmarthen suffered a cardiac arrest while he was at a Walking Football Tournament at the leisure centre on Sunday 3^rd April 2022.

The immediate intervention of staff and players at the event is credited with saving his life. Alan was given CPR and a defibrillator was used prior to Alan being airlifted to Heath Hospital Cardiff, where he underwent surgery to have an ICD (implanted cardioverter defibrillator) and stents fitted.

During Alan’s return visit to Caldicot leisure centre last month, he met Kirsty Burnett, Briden Whitbread and Duty Officer Justin Aylett, to thank them for their life saving actions. All the leisure centre’s staff were delighted to see Alan looking so well.

Alan Owen with colleagues whose quick actions saved his safe in April 2022

All MonLife leisure centres across Monmouthshire have monthly training for all lifeguards on CPR and using the defibrillator machines to ensure they are prepared should a medical emergency occur

Cllr. Sara Burch, cabinet member with responsibility for Inclusive and Active Communities, said: “I am so proud of our colleagues at Caldicot leisure centre for their quick thinking intervention, without which the outcome could have been very different. It really does show the importance of having training in CPR and the use of defibrillators. I am very pleased to see Alan so well recovered and thank him for his kindness in coming back to visit Kirsty, Briden and Justin, and the rest of the team in Caldicot.”

Alan Owen said: “Without the early intervention of the players and staff who performed CPR and administered three shocks via the on-site defibrillator, I would not be alive today. The training that the staff undertook and put into practice on that day contributed to saving my life.”

CPR training can make the difference between life and death, and anyone can learn. The British Heart Foundation’s website has a helpful introduction to the basics: www.bhf.org.uk/how-you-can-help/how-to-save-a-life

Gwent-wide projects come runner up at the Landscape Institute Awards

GGGP Team at the Awards on the 24th November 2022

The Gwent-wide Nature Isn’t Neat and Gwent Green Grid Partnership Team (GGGP) attended the Landscape Institute Awards 2022 on the 24^th November.

The team came runner up in both categories they were short listed amongst national and international submissions. Firstly, for the Excellence in Biodiversity Conservation and Enhancement professional category for their Nature Isn’t Neat project and secondly, for a Partnership & Collaboration award which recognises exceptional work in landscape as part of the Gwent Green Grid Partnership.

The Landscape Institute Awards is one of the biggest events in the industry, celebrating people, place and nature, and the many ways that landscape projects can connect them. It celebrates spaces that people can be truly proud of, with there being over 200 entries in total this year, including 53 from international entrants.

The Gwent Green Grid Partnership is a new ground-breaking regional collaboration that aims to improve and develop “Green Infrastructure”; a term used to describe the network of natural and semi-natural features and green spaces, rivers and lakes that intersperse and connect our villages, towns and cities as well as helping to support job opportunities within the area. Green Infrastructure has a crucial role to play in addressing nature, climate change, health and economic emergencies.

The Nature isn’t Neat project is establishing joined-up green space management to create wildflower-rich pollinator habitats across Gwent local authority areas – Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport, and Torfaen – as part of the Gwent Green Grid Partnership. Nature isn’t Neat aims to raise awareness about the importance of pollinators, the actions that we can all take to support them, and how these can have a positive impact on other important issues such as reducing the decline in wildlife and lessening the impacts of climate change.

Monmouthshire County Council Cabinet Member for Climate Change and the Environment, Cllr Catrin Maby said: “We are very excited that both the Gwent Green Grid Partnership and the Nature Isn’t Neat project have been shortlisted for the Landscape Institute Awards in London, getting the recognition they deserve on a national scale. Both of their approaches are crucial in protecting and enhancing our special landscapes, developing green infrastructure and helping address the decline in biodiversity and challenges of climate change. We are lucky to have such excellent professionals as well as such a stunning landscape to work with.”

These projects are supported by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development: Europe Investing in Rural Areas and is funded by the Welsh Government’s Enabling of Natural Resources and Well-being Grant.

If you would like to find out more about what these projects do, please follow these links:

Gwent Green Grid Partnership: Gwent Green Grid Partnership – Monlife

Nature Isn’t Neat: Nature Isn’t Neat – Monmouthshire

Community artwork in Abergavenny inspired by nature

The community artwork, with mosaic flowers, person, and insect, installed in Bailey Park, Abergavenny — The community artwork installed in Bailey Park, Abergavenny

New nature inspired artworks are appearing in green spaces across Gwent, encouraging more people to value the nature we can find in our communities.

The pieces have been developed as part of the Nature Isn’t Neat project, which aims to raise awareness of the decline in pollinators and encourage local action, including embedding a regional meadow management approach across the Gwent area.

Over the summer, communities have been busy designing and building mosaic artworks with artist Stephanie Roberts, that reflect the beauty of nature in their local green spaces.

The artworks are situated across Gwent, in Gilfach, Bargoed, Bryn Bach Park, Tredegar, Rogerstone Welfare Grounds, Rogerstone, Fairhill, Cwmbran.

Bailey Park, Abergavenny is home to the Monmouthshire sculpture, located near to the Rugby Club. The mosaic celebrates the humble daisy and its role for pollinators with an iridescent thick-legged flower beetle stealing the show.

The new community artworks celebrate the relationship between wildflowers, pollinators and people of Gwent. The artworks will be the focal point of a celebration in the spring, looking forward to an exciting season of nature ahead.

Cabinet Member for Climate Change and the Environment, Cllr Catrin Maby said: “The new artworks celebrate the Nature Isn’t Neat approach and the positive effect it can have had on wildlife and pollinators across Gwent. Selective mowing allows grasses and wildflowers to thrive for longer is supporting pollinators and a diverse range of wildlife generally.”

Cllr. Sara Burch, Cabinet Member for Inclusive and Active Communities, said: “It’s fantastic to see this community project taking pride of place in Bailey Park. It was heart-warming to see how many local people went along to the workshops to work on this artwork in the summer. It’s not only a great testament to Nature Isn’t Neat, but also to the community spirit in Abergavenny.”

This community art project is supported by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development: Europe Investing in Rural Areas and is funded by the Welsh Government’s Enabling of Natural Resources and Well-being Grant.

Looking for a truly historic half-term? Welsh Museums Festival has it covered

Dragon lore, Pirate Codes, Time Travel and Treasures, and Crafts are on offer as museums across Wales are busy brewing a potent potion of inspiration for a bumper historic half term, as the Welsh Museums Festival ensures plenty of activity to delight locals and visitors of all ages. And with the cost of living soaring, this year’s festival will have more FREE festival activities than ever before.

Speaking about the festival, Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport, Dawn Bowden said: “Wales’ excellent museums support our sense of nationhood and wellbeing. They are also key to our tourism economy. At a time when families and individuals across the UK are struggling with increased living costs, we feel passionate that Wales’s story and our treasures remain accessible to all. Welsh Government is therefore proud to support Welsh Museums Festival to offer a packed fortnight of events for all ages, welcoming visitors and supporting our communities, with an engaging array of events and activities in museums across Wales. And importantly, enabling more of these events than ever before, to be offered free of charge.”

Welsh Museums Festival is made possible by funding from Welsh Government. It is an annual event presented by the Federation of Museums and Art Galleries of Wales, which is the advocacy body for museums and galleries and those working in this sector within Wales. It currently represents over 100 unique Accredited Welsh museums, from small independents to national museums. Together, these invaluable collections tell the story of Wales, and are a treasured resource for learning, exploration and knowledge about our local and national identity, and how we have lived here in Wales since the dawn of time.

Launching the programme for this year’s Festival, Nêst Thomas, President of the Federation of Museums and Art Galleries of Wales said: “I’m grateful to our fantastic museums for taking up the gauntlet of participating in a longer festival this year, so that we can support local tourism economies and our communities to have a historic half term. It feels particularly important at this time of increased financial hardship, to do as much as we can to support our visitors’ wellbeing, and so we’re delighted that more Festival activities than ever will be free of charge. Come along to discover our treasures, to enjoy historic hullabaloo, to solve riddles, to learn, to make and craft, to discover a wealth of stories, to time travel and enjoy.”

In Monmouthshire, MonLife Heritage is offering a number of free activities in partnership with the festival.

A key theme of this year’s festival is ‘treasure’. Festival events will explore treasures held in museum collections and asking questions such as ‘what do you treasure?’ and ‘why?’. To that end, the festival will be engaging visiting teenagers in a Photography Competition which encourages them to creatively explore some of their ideas about treasure, while children will enjoy hunting for Black Bart’s treasure chest by solving a series of riddles and cracking a secret code.

Oh, and did we mention dragons? Look out because ‘Here Be Dragons’! A clutch of baby dragons has hatched and run a mock in a number of our museums and sharp, young eyes are needed to help track them down. All through Welsh Museums Festival, afflicted museums will be engaging visitors help round them up and return them to the wild so that they can grow big and mighty like the dragon on the Welsh flag.

We are also running specific events. Whilst the leaves are turning and our wonderful wildlife is getting ready for the colder days ahead, drop in and join us for free half term fun with our autumn animal clay play days from 11am-3pm on the following dates:

Monday 31^st October at Shire Hall Museum, Monmouth

Tuesday 1^st November at Abergavenny Museum and Castle.

Thursday 3^rd November at Chepstow Drill Hall.

Children must be accompanied by an adult. No booking required.

Cllr. Sara Burch of Monmouthshire County Council said: “There are plenty of playful family activities at Abergavenny and Chepstow Museums this week. There are opportunities for children to dress up in costumes, play a game of ‘throw the fish in the basket’, chalk the longest line you can, or grab a ‘horse’ and canter down the corridor. From mud kitchens and chalkboards to dressing up and toys and games, there is something to make a visit full of fun.”

The time travel ends on 6th November full programme details will be available on https://www.monlife.co.uk/autumn-animal-clay-play-plus-much-more/ on the festival’s website www.museums.wales

Community Nature Spaces Coming to Chepstow

Chepstow will soon be the latest town in Monmouthshire to benefit from the Community Nature Spaces Project, which aims to improve our green spaces for nature and help support opportunities for health and wellbeing. This can be done in a variety of ways, such as by planting trees, adding raised beds for community food growing and increasing wildflower planting for pollinators.

The project will be supported by Welsh Government’s Local Places for Nature funding, and will create places that will bring communities together. They’ll also be places to get up close to nature and get active.

Illustration showing a hedge and the way it supports wildlife

Cllr. Catrin Maby, Cabinet Member for Climate Change & the Environment said: “Creating spaces that support nature within our towns is good for people and for nature. It helps to protect and support biodiversity, but it also gives us green and beautiful spaces to enjoy and relax in.”

Cllr. Sara Burch, Cabinet Member for Active & Inclusive Communities said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to provide a network for wildlife and people in the very heart of our towns and engage with nature, which is good for everyone’s health and wellbeing. We’d love as many people as possible in and around Chepstow to have their say about their Community Nature Spaces, to make sure it offers the very best for the town and its people.”

Illustration showing food growing techniques for vegetables in beds

In order to get a full understanding of what the Chepstow community wants, Council Officers are working with the elected Town and County Councillors as well as local interest groups. Please visit https://www.monlife.co.uk/community-nature-spaces/ where you will find a link to a questionnaire about green spaces in Chepstow, how you use them and how you would like to see them used in the future. There will also be paper copies of the questionnaire available at Chepstow Hub. The first stage of the consultation will close on the 11^th November but residents and stakeholders are welcome to get in touch about the project at any time.

And they’re off! Monmouthshire’s children run for fun

More than a thousand Monmouthshire children donned their trainers and sports gear last month to take part in a week of sporting fun. The Cross Country 2022 sporting event brought together 27 local primary schools from across the county. Children showed the grown-ups how it’s done with fantastic sportsmanship, encouragement and teamwork throughout each event.

The Cross Country 2022 programme, organised by MonLife, was especially for primary school children between the ages of seven and 10. The chance to take part in a range of sports, races and runs, was an opportunity too good to miss. So much so, that 90% of all primary schools in Monmouthshire took part. When it comes to fitness and well-being, Monmouthshire’s children are certainly leading the way.

Cllr. Sara Burch, Cabinet Member for Inclusive and Active Communities said: “I am so impressed at the support given by teachers, pupils and families to the recent Cross Country programme of events. It’s fantastic that 27 primary schools in the county got involved. Hopefully these youngsters have now got a taste for sport and for running. Who knows, maybe some of them will be professional athletics stars of the future. In becoming more active, they’re already on the right track.”

The far-reaching Cross Country event – the first since the pandemic – gave a fantastic opportunity to meet new people and most importantly have fun. One parent who attended said: “I just wanted to say that the Cross Country event this morning was brilliant and my daughter really enjoyed it. She wants to sign us up for the junior park run now!”

If you missed the week of fun, it’s not too late to get involved. Junior Parkruns are held in Dixton (Monmouth), Bailey Park (Abergavenny) and in Rogiet, so get those trainers on and head along. For more information regarding primary school festivals or details of your local parkrun please email sport@monmouthshire.gov.uk

‘Food and Fun’ programme provides children with healthy meals during summer holidays

The school holidays can put all kinds of pressure on families. To help out with mealtimes, the Welsh Government’s Food and Fun Enrichment programme provided healthy meals and activities during the summer break across five host schools that met the criteria.

Food and Fun is a school-based education programme that provides food and nutrition education, physical activity, enrichment sessions and healthy meals to children from disadvantages areas during the school summer holidays. Access for the scheme is co-ordinated on a referral basis with education from the host schools.

Starting as a pilot run by Cardiff Council in 2015, Food and Fun has developed into a national, fully funded Welsh Government programme administered by the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA). In 2021, 137 schools in Wales delivered the programme and provided over 7500 places for children each day that it ran and is taking place in several Monmouthshire primary schools this summer. This summer has seen a total of 2005 attendances recorded in the Food and Fun provision, with 4010 breakfast and lunches provided. Dewstow, Kymin View, Overmonnow, Deri View and Thornwell primary schools are all welcoming the Food and Fun programme, providing pupils with the opportunity of staying active over the summer whilst receiving nutritious meals.

Councillor Sara Burch, Cabinet Member for Inclusive and Active Communities, attended the Food and Fun sessions at Deri View Primary school on Thursday 4^th August. Cllr. Burch said “It was great to see what the MonLife team are doing for children over the summer holidays across the county. These Food and Fun sessions are a great way for children to keep active, have fun and stay in contact with their friends whilst enjoying delicious, nutritious food. I want to say a big thank you to everyone who is working hard to make sure these important sessions run, and most importantly, making sure these children have a great summer holidays.”

There’s still time to take part in the Nature Isn’t Neat survey

Since its launch, this summer’s Nature isn’t Neat online Survey has received more than 1,000 responses from across Monmouthshire and the wider Gwent area.

The survey, which closes on Friday 30^th September, has been designed to capture residents’ thoughts on the Nature Isn’t Neat approach, which promotes letting grassland in parks and along verges grow in the spring and summer to create meadow areas and space for nature. The feedback received will help inform future management of green spaces.

Nature isn’t Neat’s ethos is that grassland in Gwent’s green spaces should be allowed to grow and flourish with wildflowers, providing food and habitat for our pollinators. It’s also about finding a balance between nature and recreation throughout the year. Monmouthshire County Council is continually assessing how well they’re managing green spaces for nature and for residents. The survey will continue into the autumn so there is plenty of opportunity to provide feedback by completing the survey at www.monlife.co.uk/outdoor/nature-isnt-neat/complete-our-survey/

As late summer approaches, many plants have finished flowering and are beginning to set seed, leaving meadow areas looking grassier. Whilst they may not be as colourful, they are still full of grasshoppers, moths and butterflies which are living and feeding in the grass. It’s vital that wildflowers and meadow grasses can produce and disperse seed before being cut, so we get more flowers next year. At the end of the season, the council’s grounds teams will be starting their grass cutting regimes across sites, by cutting and collecting the arisings like a traditional meadow they are removing nutrients and reducing the dominance of grass next year and encouraging more biodiverse habitats.

The project is supported by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development: Europe Investing in Rural Areas and is funded by the Welsh Government’s Enabling of Natural Resources and Well-being Grant.

For more information visit: https://www.monlife.co.uk/outdoor/nature-isnt-neat/

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