Over the past couple of months, the young people on Anglesey/Ynys Môn have been working hard to create something special - carbon-negative gardens! Brought about as an idea from the Môn Gwyrdd environmental forum last year, these garden areas are planned to provide young people and local communities the opportunity to learn about gardening, to understand how carbon is released during the production of our food, and to eventually be a valuable carbon-negative asset to the community!

If that wasn't exciting enough - through this work, a partnership has been born! The Stand for Nature Wales team and youth forum members are working with Ysgol Gyfun Llangefni on Anglesey/Ynys Môn as they embark on the new curriculum in Wales. As one of few pilot schools delivering the new curriculum in Wales, we are delighted to be able to work with the school to embrace the new curriculum and engage pupils with nature.  As part of the curriculum, pupils are encouraged to work with their local communities to deliver change. This is where we come in! 

The Wildlife Trusts, Stand for Nature Wales youth climate change project along with the school and the local community are working together to create a carbon-negative garden! 

What is a carbon-negative garden?

Good question! The first thing to note is that we never use peat-based compost. It is massively damaging to our fight against climate change and our ecosystems, you can find out more here. 

We've got a few ideas for our garden, but here's just a few:

1. No dig raised beds: We will be installing no-dig raised beds, these store carbon in the ground over time and are great in our fight against climate change (as well as meaning less digging!)
2. Compost bins: We will be creating our own compost bins to use on fruit and veg on site
3. Trees: We're going to plant trees, but particularly fruit trees which store carbon, are great for pollinators, and provide us with food such as apples!
4. Increasing habitats for nature: We will be installing bird boxes, bug hotels, wildflower planting and much more!
5. Sustainability: We will be using sustainably sourced materials to ensure only a small impact is created when developing the garden.

At just under an acre, transforming the land at Ysgol Gyfun Llangefni is no easy task! 

Thankfully, many hands make light work! The Year 7's at the school have completed 10 sessions of bio blitzes to take a snapshot of the species living on the land. With that in mind, they're now busy coming up with some garden designs. All designs will be entered into a competition - with the winning design being used to develop the garden.

Work at both Ysgol David Hughes and Ysgol Gyfun Llangefni is in its infancy at the moment, but the future for the project on Anglesey/Ynys Môn is looking very bright indeed, and hopefully come next spring there will be flowers, vegetables, fruit, and wildlife in abundance on both carbon gardens, as well as those important links to the local communities.

Find out more