THE recently formed White Farm Conservation Group are looking for eco-volunteers to help us plant fruit trees and carry out a litter pick in the valley adjacent Whitewell Road this coming Saturday (November 24), meeting at 10.30am at the junction of Whitewell Road and Coleridge Crescent. All litter picking equipment will be supplied but please wear appropriate clothing and boots.

Over 190 applicants from across Wales were successful in applying for free Homebase vouchers as part of Keep Wales Tidy’s ‘Have a Wild Weekend for Wales’ campaign.

Funded by Welsh Government, CCW and Homebase, the aim of the weekend-long campaign was to encourage groups to create new wildlife habitats to improve local biodiversity by undertaking small practical projects to benefit native species.

Volunteers from the White Farm Conservation Group will be rolling up their sleeves, getting back to nature and giving local wildlife a helping hand in Barry. We were successful in applying for a £150 Homebase voucher which we used to buy seven cherry, plum, apple and pear fruit trees as well as a number of bird nesting boxes for House Sparrows, Blue Tits and Kestrels.

During the Wild Weekend we will plant the seven fruit trees along the boundary of White Farm at Whitewell Road and erect bird nesting boxes in adjacent trees. The project will be the first since the White Farm Conservation Group was launched last month to help protect the last remaining green areas around White Farm. The fruit trees will provide nectar/pollen for bees and butterflies in the spring while providing free fruit in the autumn for local children. The nesting boxes will provide safe homes for a number of species of birds.

We hope to have the support of local children when we come around to planting the trees next week. ‘Have a Wild Weekend for Wales’ will enable us to make a huge improvement to the biodiversity of White Farm and hopefully this will benefit the bee/butterfly population as well as birds.

For more information on improving biodiversity in your area projects e-mail tidy.towns@keepwalestidy.org Rob Curtis White Farm Conservation Group Co-ordinator