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Gronant Family Centre helping the environment

Published: 18/01/2023

The Family Centre in Gronant, part of Flintshire’s Family Information Service, loves to work with other organisations to deliver services and activities in their local community.  Here are a couple of heart-warming stories to cheer up these cold dark days!

Encouraging the swifts!

This winter, they worked with the North Wales Wildlife Trust on a project to engage not just our community, but to also help our wildlife.

Gronant has been identified as a hot spot for swift populations, and as this species is struggling and in decline the Trust has been working with communities to help them along a little.  They looked for the best place to install it – a sheltered spot, high up and west facing and the Trust installed it in December.

The site is ideal – it’s tucked away high up and above a flat roof, and it’s sited where the children from the childcare settings will be able to observe it.  The centre now plans to involve the children in surveys to record activity and feed it back to the Wildlife Trust.  The Trust has even provided sound files for the children to play in the spring to encourage the swifts to take up residence.  

A tree for the Jubilee 

The Centre has been home to our local Women’s Institute for several years.  They are a pro-active, vibrant group who keep busy and active with diverse and interesting projects and activities.

Around the time of the Queen’s platinum Jubilee, the group asked if it would be possible to plant a tree in the grounds to honour the event.  They chose a flowering cherry tree, ideal to enjoy the spring blossom.

The tree was ordered but wasn’t available until the autumn – tree planting time.  Unfortunately, the Queen passed away in September.  But the tree planting still went ahead in November when everyone gathered to honour and pay their respects to the late Queen.  The children from the childcare settings also attended and enjoyed helping with the planting.  A plaque marking the occasion was installed and now everyone is looking forward to the lovely spring blossom.

For more information on the Family Information Service, contact fisf@flintshire.gov.uk, FIS Facebook page or call 01352 703500.