The foundational economy community of practice started in July 2020 as part of the Welsh Government’s Foundational Economy Challenge Fund. Its aim was to share learning and innovation, build relationships and encourage collaboration.
The Challenge Fund provided support to projects looking to try out new ways to address challenges – some emerging, some age-old – faced by foundational economy businesses or those relying on their services.
These included:
the recruitment, retention and skills of the workforce
the delivery structures and design of services
the recruitment, retention and skills of the workforce
the delivery structures and design of services
The aim was to explore a range of solutions that could potentially generate viable, adaptable models that could be scaled up and spread to strengthen local economies and community wealth-building.
Staring in 2019 with an initial 52 projects, it was always expected that some experiments would not succeed and conditions were made even more challenging by the impact of the pandemic.
A community of practice was also however put in place to help capture some of the rich learning and insights generated by all the projects taking part. The examples in the case studies below give a flavour of the projects supported by the Fund – their successes, challenges and above all learning, about how best the foundational economy in their area or sector can be supported. The Fund closed in March 2021 but, at the request of members, the community of practice has continued. Its role continues to be to share learning, encourage and expand dialogue and facilitate collaboration.
This St David’s Day, we are asking organisations across Cardiff to think about the little things they can do to ensure a fair day’s pay for their workers, whether it’s understanding how to become an accredited Living Wage employer, or reaching out to other organisations to encourage them to consider the real Living Wage, or helping us share the positive messages about the difference that paying the real Living Wage can make.
Cardiff Council is currently the only accredited real Living Wage local authority in Wales. The Council and partners are championing Cardiff as a Living Wage city which is having positive impact on the city and its employees. As of 1 February 2021, 45% of Wales’ total accredited employers were based in Cardiff and Cardiff employers had contributed to 69% of total uplifts in pay. Recent research by Cardiff University has shown that real Living Wage accreditation by 124 Cardiff employers has resulted in 7,735 workers receiving a pay rise which has added over £32m to the local economy in just over 8 years.
To hear more about the benefits of the real Living Wage from employers and employees in Cardiff please watch this video.
Leader of Cardiff Council, Cllr Huw Thomas, said:
“The seemingly small things really can make a big difference, and I know the significant impact paying the real Living Wage has had in the lives of our own staff. We’re pleased to be supporting organisations across the city to enable them to do the same for their own employees, and this St David’s Day I would encourage any Cardiff business interested in paying the real Living Wage to get in touch to find out more.”
Cardiff Council understand the wider benefits that the real Living Wage can bring to individuals and employers, as well as to the City; and they have made a commitment to reimbursing accreditation fees for SME employers based in Cardiff through their accreditation support scheme. For more information about the real Living Wage in Cardiff please visit the website.
Cardiff Council also encourages local employers to provide a Payroll Savings and Loans Scheme to their staff, enabling their employees to save directly from their salaries and if needed, access affordable credit from an ethical provider. More information can be found on this on the Cardiff & Vale Credit Union’s website.
Cynnal Cymru is the accrediting body for the real Living Wage in Wales and are here to help you through the accreditation process. Get in touch, join the movement, do the little things.
We wish you all a happy St David’s Day. Diolch yn fawr!
The Flexible Skills Programme (FSP) is a Welsh Government funded initiative that helps businesses across Wales build a stronger, more skilled workforce. Employers can apply for funding to cover up to 50% of the accredited training costs, with a maximum value of £50,000 per application. Whether you’re looking to fill skills gaps, retain staff, or attract new talent, the Flexible Skills Programme can help you invest in your team’s future. This funding is available to employers operating in any industry across Wales. To be eligible, your business must be based in Wales, be financially solvent and commit to releasing staff to complete the training by the end of March 2026.
Priority sectors it covers include net zero, tourism and hospitality, digital and exporting skills.
The Welsh Government is building a stronger, fairer, greener country, with an economy based on fair work, sustainability and the sectors of the future.
We help businesses, the third sector, public sector bodies and research organisations to innovate and create new products and services. This can help increase commercialisation, improve skills and ensure Wales remains competitive and strives towards carbon-free in the future.
SMART Flexible Innovation Support (FIS) is open to any organisation wishing to engage in Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I), including the third sector, local authorities and health boards.
The Cookalong Clwb is a transformative project aimed at addressing food insecurity and promoting kitchen confidence in children. Initially focused on providing healthy, affordable meal options for families, the project now spans beyond food poverty to teach essential life skills that empower young people to cook independently and sustainably.
In partnership with Size of Wales, the initiative also tackles climate change by working with students to design deforestation-free, locally sourced menus for Monmouthshire schools. Through a combination of online and in-person lessons, the project is helping children develop lifelong skills around food, cooking, and sustainability.
Project goals
The Cookalong Clwb aims to:
Teach children essential cooking and budgeting skills.
Increase knowledge of healthy, locally sourced foods.
Empower children to make informed food choices and reduce food waste.
Raise awareness of climate change and the importance of sustainable sourcing.
“If children leave primary school knowing how to cook, budget, and make healthier food choices, they are set up for life. They’ll know how to feed their families, and they’ll have the confidence to make better decisions about food, whether it’s cooking or shopping.” – Angharad Underwood, the Cookalong Clwb
The project also works with disabled teams, teaching them how to shop and cook independently, promoting autonomy and self-reliance.
Impact and outcomes
The Cookalong Clwb has already made significant strides in fostering positive, long-lasting changes in children’s lives. Through both online and in-person sessions, the program has cultivated:
Kitchen Confidence: Children have learned to chop, cook, and manage the kitchen with sharp knives and hot pans, giving them practical skills that will last a lifetime.
Waste Reduction: Kids are now mindful of food waste, with tips like reviving lettuce stalks or broccoli stems by placing them in water for ten minutes.
Family Engagement: Children share their newfound skills with family members, subtly shifting family dynamics and sparking discussions about healthier cooking and reducing food waste.
Sustainability Advocacy: The collaboration with Size of Wales has inspired children to advocate for sustainable, deforestation-free school meals, with the Monmouthshire County Council committing to becoming the world’s first deforestation-free county.
Additionally, the project has inspired some children to pursue vocational qualifications, opening doors to careers they hadn’t previously considered.
Realisations and insights
While initially focused on food poverty, the project uncovered that socioeconomic status doesn’t necessarily correlate with cooking skills. As one participant reflects:
“The wealthier you are, the more likely you are to buy ready-made meals. The less wealthy, rely on food banks and ultra-processed foods. What we realised is that kids of all backgrounds are lacking kitchen skills.”– Angharad Underwood, the Cookalong Clwb
Another key realisation is the widespread fear around cooking and food preparation, often due to a lack of exposure or confidence. The project is working to break these barriers, especially when it comes to managing the kitchen environment and understanding food’s real value.
Challenges faced
The main challenge has been securing consistent funding to ensure long-term sustainability. Without reliable resources, expanding the project into more schools and reaching a larger audience remains a significant hurdle. As emphasised: “You can’t charge for this. Schools don’t have budgets, and we need the funding to continue delivering these lessons.”
Future plans and vision
Looking ahead, the project plans to:
Expand: Reach more schools across Monmouthshire and Wales, providing cooking lessons to a broader audience.
Teacher Training: Equip teachers with the tools and confidence to deliver cooking lessons within the curriculum.
Community Kitchens: Explore the creation of community kitchens where families can gather, cook together, and share meals.
Sustainability Focus: Continue advocating for deforestation-free, sustainable school menus and sourcing locally and ethically grown produce.
“We are excited to be growing veg for schools because it’s important that children have nutritious food and know where it comes from. Healthy food, healthy children, healthy Wales.” — Geraint Evans, Welsh Grower
Introduction
The Welsh Veg in Schools initiative is a pioneering project that aims to increase the production and consumption of organic Welsh-grown vegetables by supplying them directly to primary schools. By aligning local food production with public sector procurement, the initiative offers a powerful example of how sustainable food systems can support health, education, and the environment, while strengthening local economies.
Launched with support from the Backing Local Firms Fund, the project brings together farmers, distributors, policymakers, and educators to deliver fresh, organic produce to school meals across Wales creating meaningful connections between children and the food they eat.
Background and vision
At the start of this project, an overwhelming 94% of vegetables used in primary schools in Wales were sourced from outside the country, often frozen and non-organic. The Welsh Veg in Schools project set out to change that by:
Increasing local organic vegetable production.
Creating new markets for Welsh growers.
Promoting sustainable agriculture and biodiversity.
Supporting children’s health and food education.
The project is coordinated by Food Sense Wales, in collaboration with Castell Howell (Wales’ largest food distributor) and Farming Connect Horticulture, run by Lantra. These partners are part of a wider network of growers and stakeholders working to create a fairer, more resilient food system in Wales.
Growth and progress
What began three years ago with just one grower has now grown into a vibrant, multi-stakeholder project. By 2024:
8 growers were actively supplying schools.
14 tonnes of organic Welsh veg were used in school meals.
The project reached 219 schools across 6 local authority areas – Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, Monmouthshire, Powys, Bridgend and the Vale of Glamorgan.
400 children visited four farms enabling them to connect directly with the land and the farmers growing their food.
By 2025, the initiative has scaled to:
15 local growers participating.
12 local authorities engaged.
3 wholesale partners distributing produce across school catering networks.
This expansion means that approximately 1 million portions of local, organic veg will be served to school children in Wales.
Challenges and lessons learned
2023 presented significant challenges:
Delays with funding disrupted planning cycles, misaligning crop production with school meal requirements.
Adverse weather led to reduced yields, impacting supply.
However, these challenges led to valuable learning:
Earlier coordination with local authorities began in late 2023, allowing better crop planning.
More growers were brought on board to build resilience and reduce risk.
Castell Howell’s existing supply chains absorbed surplus produce, avoiding waste.
The Backing Local Firms Fund played a critical role in allowing experimentation, system development, and the formation of new networks. It also opened doors to collaborate with other food projects across Wales.
Impact and looking ahead
The project has proven that a local, organic supply chain for school food is not only possible but desirable. Interest has grown across Wales and beyond, with stakeholders from across the UK contacting the team to learn how to replicate the model in their own regions.
Key highlights to date include:
A shift from imported to local organic veg in school meals.
Creation of alternative income streams for Welsh growers.
Hands-on learning experiences for children, connecting food, farming, and health.
The establishment of a new North Wales growers’ group, expanding the reach of the project across the country.
In April 2025, Food Sense Wales published a series of reports noting the project’s achievements. You can read the various reports by clicking on the relevant links below:
Looking to the future, Food Sense Wales is actively exploring new funding opportunities to grow the project further. The ambition is clear: to bring more Welsh-grown organic produce into more Welsh schools, involving more local authorities, more growers, and more children in the journey toward a sustainable, healthy food system.
Conclusion
The Welsh Veg in Schools project exemplifies how public procurement can drive meaningful change, from farm to fork. It strengthens local economies, supports sustainable farming, and helps young people understand and appreciate where their food comes from. Thanks to the support of the Backing Local Firms Fund, the foundation is set for long-term, scalable success across Wales and beyond.
It might be hard to grasp why some people don’t seem to care about nature or climate change, but for many, life is busy and already full of challenges and priorities. We have also become so disconnected from the natural world that it can be easy to forget that it’s essential to our existence. Unfortunately, just telling people why climate and nature matter, is unlikely to get them to change their mind or their habits. In fact, scare tactics have been shown to switch people off more than get them on board.
To help you improve your approach to talking to your friends, family or colleagues, our training team have drawn on their shared experience to create their five top tips for communicating about nature and climate change.
1. Focus on what’s possible, rather than what isn’t
Create a positive vision of a thriving future, and encourage people to share their own vision – storytelling can be a great tool for this.
2. Appeal to people’s better self and encourage empathy
Most people want to be healthy and happy and would like the same for their family and friends – so highlight the tangible benefits of taking action on climate change.
3. Remember the importance of listening
When communicating about climate change, what you hear is as important as what you say. Understanding why someone thinks the way they do will help you engage with them more effectively.
4. Find some common ground
Avoid polarising arguments or rhetoric that can lead to ‘us and them’ or ‘everybody else’ thinking. Instead, highlight the things we have in common.
5. Normalise positive behaviours
We tend to respond to things we see our peers doing, so provide some real, positive examples of how others are taking action.
If you want to know more? Check out these useful resources.
Colli Cymru i’r Môr – three-part series on iPlayer and S4C Clic looking at climate change in Wales and further afield. It’s presented in Welsh with English subtitles.
To listen:
Podcast ‘The imam who reached out to rioters’ (Today in Focus) with the imam Adam Kennewick is an incredible example of using depolarising communication techniques in an extreme or even life-threatening situation.
“Food Hour has been such a success at the school. We’re usually dragging parents in from the playground to join our courses… this was fully booked within an hour of being advertised, and they all turned up! The children and teachers loved getting involved.” — Claire Crockford, Deputy Head, Trelai Primary School
Introduction
The Food Hour project, funded through the Welsh Government’s Backing Local Firms Fund, is a hands-on educational initiative designed to build lifelong food skills and increase food confidence among children and families. Designed in alignment with the new Welsh curriculum, the project integrates cooking, growing, nutrition, and sustainability into everyday learning, nurturing a new generation of informed, confident food citizens.
Building on the success of the nationally recognised Food & Fun programme, Food Hour is the latest innovation delivered in collaboration with Food Sense Wales, Public Health Nutrition and Dietetic Services at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and the education catering team at Cardiff Council, made possible by the Welsh Government’s Foundational Economy team.
Background: Building on proven success
The Food & Fun pilot began in 2015 as a response to concerns around food insecurity and holiday hunger. Designed to provide nutritious meals, physical activity, and food education during school holidays, the pilot was a major success and has since been adopted as a national programme across Wales.
Inspired by that model, Food Hour was developed to embed food education into the school day, equipping children with the knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm to engage with food in healthy, sustainable ways. Additionally, the Food Hour initiative sought to encourage more students to take advantage of the Wales Free School Meal program.
The food hour approach
The Food Hour is a daily, curriculum-aligned programme delivered in primary schools, centred around four core themes:
Nutrition Education
Practical Cooking
Growing Food
Sustainability
Through these themes, pupils explore where their food comes from, how to prepare it, and how to make informed choices, both for their health and the planet. The sessions focus on real-life, practical learning, including:
Cooking and budgeting skills
Seasonal and local food awareness
Growing fruit and vegetables
Sustainable food systems
To support whole-community engagement, the project also includes:
Staff training for school and catering teams
Family engagement sessions such as “cook and create” events
Take-home recipe kits and training opportunities for parents to build a home-school food connection
Early outcomes and impact
The pilot phase has reached 210 Year 5 pupils across six primary schools, with overwhelmingly positive feedback from teachers, pupils, and families and a self-reported increase in the uptake of free school meals due to taking part in the Food Hour.
Feedback Highlights:
97.5% of pupils enjoyed the Food Hour sessions
90% learned something new
100% participated in healthy eating activities
94% enjoyed the recipes they cooked
95% reported learning about sustainability
“Brilliant parent bonding experience! Even my child with food aversions enjoyed making the food—even if he didn’t eat it.” — Parent from a Cook & Create session
“I was nervous about how my Year 5s would behave, but they all loved it and were really engaged. I thoroughly enjoyed myself too!” — Year 5 Teacher, Hywel Dda Primary School
Evaluation
Challenges and learnings
Like many school-based pilot projects, timing proved a key challenge. The project began gaining momentum just as the summer term ended, requiring the team to consult, develop, and deliver simultaneously.
Despite this, the pilot demonstrated the concept’s potential and produced a robust set of resources that are ready to be rolled out or picked up at a later date if immediate funding isn’t secured.
The Backing Local Firms Fund was pivotal in making this pilot possible, providing the funding and capacity required to bring the concept to life in real-world settings.
Looking Ahead: From Pilot to Programme
Following the path of Food & Fun, partners hope to see Food Hour evolve from pilot to national programme, with a broader rollout across primary schools in Wales.
Discussions are already underway about:
Adapting content for younger and older primary age groups
Scaling delivery across more schools and regions
Evaluating impact on Free School Meal uptake and long-term behaviour change
While continued funding will be essential for this next stage, the tools, partnerships, and enthusiasm are already in place to take Food Hour forward.
Conclusion
The Food Hour project is more than just a series of school activities, it’s a foundation for long-term change. By equipping children with the skills to cook, grow, and think critically about food, it lays the groundwork for a healthier, more food-literate generation.
Backed by the Backing Local Firms Fund, this project shows how education, health, and the foundational economy can come together to create a stronger, more resilient Wales—one Food Hour at a time.
On April 28th, 2025, Cynnal Cymru hosted the Foundational Economy Celebration event in partnership with the Welsh Government’s Foundational Economy team. The event showcased over 15 projects operating within the foundational sectors, many in the food sector focused on increasing Welsh food in the public sector. Projects showcased such as Welsh Veg in Schools with Food Sense Wales and Castell Howell, Cardiff Food Hour, Larder Cymru with Menter Môn, Cook Along Clwb, Well-being of Future Generations menu pilot with Carmarthenshire County Council, Welsh food index with BIC Innovation, and Future Farms with Social Farms and Gardens.
The projects emphasise the importance of providing healthy, fresh, seasonal, local, and affordable meals. They also work to develop the Welsh supply chain to ensure the commercial viability of Welsh-grown vegetables and meat products, thereby supporting local farmers, reducing carbon emissions, and promoting sustainability. The promotion of local and seasonal foods plays a vital role in advancing sustainable practices across the sector.
This month, the Cynnal Cymru team have been sharing photos and stories about birds, bees and other wildlife encounters. It is summer, after all, and nature is in full swing! Our Training Administrator Tom also took part in the Wye Valley BuzzWatch: Bee ID and Monitoring workshop, which you can read about below.
Twenty percent of the UK’s cropped area contains crops which are dependent on pollinators, and the value of pollinators to UK agriculture is over £690 million per year.
‘The value of honey produced in Wales is also considerable with a wholesale value in excess of £2 million in 2011.‘Action plan for pollinators in Wales
We have lost 97% of our wildflower-rich meadows since the 1940s, and as the number of flowers in our countryside have declined, so too have our bumblebee pollinators, and they are in desperate need of our help!
The main threats to pollinators include habitat loss, environmental pollution, climate change and the spread of alien species.
Honey bees Vs native pollinators
There is just one species of honey bee in Britain and Europe, the Western or European Honey bee Apis mellifera. In contrast, there are over 1500 other pollinator species in the UK, including over 270 wild bee species, as well as hoverflies, moths and butterflies. Honey bees are not at threat of extinction in the UK. But there is increasing concern worldwide that declines in wild pollinators may be worsened by high densities of honey bees. For example, one honey bee hive can contain over 40,000 bees. That’s 40,000 bees competing with other wild species for food and resources, which could put a strain on the native wild bees. Honey bee hives have also been known to spread disease to wild bees, devastating local populations. If, for example, a honeybee hive was introduced into an area where a rare bumblebee species had made its home, this could result in the end of that population.
The UK has also lost 97% of its wildflower meadows in the last century, which means bumblebees are struggling to find enough food and good nesting spots to survive. The use of insecticides can also directly kill or affect the ability of bumblebees to find food and reproduce, with herbicide use killing flowering plants, a vital food source for bumblebees. Shifts in seasonal patterns and weather also disrupt bumblebee behaviour and impact survival at key life stages, such as spring emergence, nesting, and winter hibernation.
Extreme weather events like floods, droughts and storms also impact bumblebee numbers. Floods can drown hibernating queens and underground nests. Droughts can cause plant deaths, reducing the amount of nectar and pollen available for bumblebees to feed on and collect, with storms preventing bumblebees from foraging for food, as they struggle to fly in wet windy weather.
If you want to learn more about the links between human activity and ecosystem disruption and develop the knowledge to enable you and your organisation to take action for nature recovery, then signing up for our Nature Wise Eco-Literacy course might be the next step for you.
Nature Wise is a science-based, action-focused course to help you to understand the relationships between people and natural systems. It shares knowledge, builds understanding and provide the tools to motivate and catalyse action. You can sign up to our online courses at the below link.
Tom talks about what he learnt at the Bee ID and Monitoring workshop
On World Bee Day May 20th, I was lucky enough to attend a Bee ID and Monitoring workshop that was organised by Wye Valley National Landscapes and delivered by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. Our expert for the day was Dr Richard Comont (Bumblebee Conservation Trust Science Manager). During the morning session Richard took us through a presentation on the benefits of bumblebees and other pollinators, and the data showing their unfortunate decline over the years. We looked at what we can do as individuals to allow them to thrive and make sure their much-needed habitats are protected. We learnt how to identify different bees and the differences between the queen, other female workers and male drones.
Fun fact: Female bees, including worker bees and queens, are the only ones that can sting. The stinger is a modified ovipositor; the organ used for laying eggs and is therefore only possessed by females. Male bees (drones) do not have stingers.
After a wonderful lunch put on by the National Landscapes team, we collected our Bee ID kit and went to Trelleck Wet Meadows for an afternoon session of bee identification.
We had a great afternoon carefully catching and identifying bees. I caught three female worker Red-Tailed bumblebees. Sadly, I didn’t get a picture of these as I was far too excited at the time. One of the other attendees caught a Brown-Banded Carder bee which was the first time one was recorded in the Wye-Valley National Landscape.
I went away from the day with new knowledge and skills that will allow me to record and document the bumblebees that I come across, and add to the baseline data of bumblebee populations across the Wye-Valley National Landscape to allow them to focus their conservation efforts in the most important areas.
Tom Kirkton is the Training Administrator at Cynnal Cymru
Join us on 09 July for an informal roundtable event where we’ll be exploring how nature-based solutions can create real business benefits in the workplace .
Led by Louise Cartwright, our Head of Training, this session will feature expert insights on how organisations are embedding nature into their operations—and the positive impacts they’re seeing. We’ll also be joined by Stacy Griffiths, Corporate Environment Lead and Danielle Pugh, Sustainability Assistant from Wales & West Utilities. They will be sharing their integrated approach to supporting nature.
Whether you’re just starting your nature journey or looking to enhance your existing strategy, these sessions are a chance to connect, learn, and share your own experiences.
Places are limited, with priority booking for Cynnal Cymru members.
Register to attend
This event is Cynnal Cymru members and for businesses or organisations that are based in Wales.
Date: 09 July 2025 Time: 10:00 – 11:30 am Location: Teams Meeting (online)
Stacy Griffiths (AIEMA) | Corporate Environment Lead, Wales and West Utilities
Stacy Griffiths joined Wales & West Utilities in 2005, where she gained extensive experience across a variety of roles in Business Services before moving into Asset Management. In March 2022, she joined the Corporate Environment Team as an Environment Analyst, swiftly ascending to Corporate Environment Lead in October 2022 when the team expanded into the Sustainability and Environment team it is today.
In her current capacity, Stacy is responsible for delivering Wales & West Utilities’ comprehensive Environmental Action Plan. This plan outlines the company’s short, medium, and long-term ambitions to significantly reduce environmental impacts in key areas such as business carbon, resource use, and waste, while simultaneously maximising positive impacts on natural capital, culture, and society.
Stacy earned her BSc through the Open University, graduating in 2023. She is currently completing a Certificate in Environmental Management with IEMA, working towards obtaining Registered Environmental Practitioner status on her path to full chartership.
Danielle Pugh (AIEMA) | Sustainability Assistant, Wales and West Utilities
Danielle Pugh is a Sustainability Assistant at Wales & West Utilities, where she joined the Sustainability & Environment team in 2024. She plays a key role in embedding eco-conscious solutions into daily operations and supporting strategies that drive meaningful environmental change. With over eight years of experience across various departments at Wales & West Utilities, Danielle brings a broad perspective and valuable insight to her current role.
Danielle earned her BSc at the University of South Wales in 2014 and has recently gained her IEMA Associate status and is working towards full chartership. Danielle looks forward to contributing to the conversation on building a more sustainable future.
A recent report in Harvard Business Review demonstrated that even small interventions to increase access to nature – in offices from Canada to China – increased staff creativity, productivity and helpfulness. Natural England’s “Links between natural environments and mental health” 2022 paper also affirms that spending time in natural environments is associated with positive outcomes for mental health, stress and psycho-social wellbeing.
Both reports indicate that increasing access to nature need not be large-scale, expensive or onerous to generate these benefits. Whilst not every organisation can invest in a green roof or living wall, even micro spaces can become ‘stepping stones’ to connect up habitats and provide feeding stations for wildlife. For staff too time-pressed to fit in a regular nature walk, daily glimpses of nature at work and a chance to see, smell or hear our incredible biodiversity are also effective in boosting mood and performance.
Public bodies already have a duty, under the Environment (Wales) Act 2016, to maintain and enhance biodiversity and their partners and suppliers are being asked to showcase their biodiversity commitments too when they tender for public contracts.
With all these reasons to incorporate nature more in both our personal and professional lives, we are delighted to share some top tips to help!
How you can take action for nature
Let it grow!
Take part in No Mow May and Let it Bloom June – Plantlife’s annual campaign urging everyone to pack away the lawnmower, let wildflowers grow freely and help nature. Whether you’re in a city, town or the countryside, it’s easy to take part.
No lawn or green space is too small! Even the smallest wild patch can provide vital food needed by bees and butterflies, connecting us with nature and giving nature the best start to summer.
‘Nature isn’t neat’
Check out the MonLife’s ‘Nature isn’t Neat’, approach to establishing joined-up green space management to create wildflower-rich pollinator habitats across Gwent local authority areas. This includes a comprehensive toolkit to support organisations and community groups.
If you are a community or town councillor, you can take part in One Voice Wales Biodiversity Basics (Module 25 – Biodiversity basics Part 1 and Module 26 Part 2) designed by the Cynnal Cymru training team. This course teaches the basics of biodiversity, nature recovery and ecology to enable good decisions and effective Biodiversity Action Plans.
Citizen science
If access to land in your work place or at home is limited, why not explore biodiversity in your local area by using the LERC App, contributing to nature conservation, planning, research and education by submitting biodiversity records.
Increasing nature & biodiversity at your business premises
Using the expertise of its Landscape Architecture team, Groundwork has pulled together a free Nature & Biodiversity toolkit which outlines the different nature-based features your business could consider at different scales of investment and impact.
Practical examples of organisations taking action for nature
From small growing initiatives to site-wide biodiversity action plans, the following businesses and organisations are already taking action to increase biodiversity within their community and place of work.
Y Stiwdio in Pembrokeshire is a creative space where wellies are welcome. A place to make, learn and grow. Y Stiwdio volunteers have created a community described as ‘A special place for all of us with secluded seating and a variety of wildlife-friendly plants to enhance the centre of the village’.
4. Cardiff University – Ecosystem resilience and biodiversity action plan 2024-2026
Cynnal Cymru has office space in the Sbarc|Spark building in Cathays Cardiff. While it is located in an urban area, we were pleased to discover the surrounding land was being used to create wildlife friendly spaces including mini meadows, hedgerows and a bug hotel. The Ecosystem Resilience and Biodiversity Action Plan, sets out how Cardiff University are going to maintain and enhance biodiversity and promote ecosystem resilience across Cardiff University’s campuses.
5. Capital Coated Steel – Biodiversity garden
Capital Coated Steel are an excellent example of how a steel manufacturer has made space for nature on a previously derelict site. The Biodiversity garden supports staff well-being, helps to educate visitors and repurposes waste. The project initiated by, Simon Nurse, and co-created with his team, has now taken on a life of it’s own! You can follow the latest updates on Simon’s Linkedin page.
6. Greener Grangetown, Cardiff – Sustainable Drainage Systems
Greener Grange is a nature-based intervention to retrofit a sustainable drainage system into existing urban streets, creating over 100 raingardens while leaving space for parking and other needs. Not only does the system reduce flooding, it has increased biodiversity and provides multiple benefits to the local community. You can read more about the Green Grangetown project on the Nature Based Solutions hub.
All 56 public sector bodies in Wales to be real Living Wage employers in the next five years
As the Living Wage Foundation’s accreditation partner for Wales we host Living Wage Wales in-house, and are funded by Welsh Government to support any employer who wants to commit to this proven method of poverty alleviation. We will be following up with the public bodies to support them in fulfilling their new obligation.
Supercharge actions with multiple benefits
We will continue to provide the tools and support to 100s of organisations and 1,000s of individuals within Wales through our training programmes in areas such as Carbon Literacy and Nature Wise. We will improve how we report on our multiple impacts as a charity on areas such as cost, jobs, carbon, and healthy life expectancy.
No more short-term fixes
There is a wealth of strategies, evidence and plans for a better future for Wales. Building on our work on the Well-being of Future Generations Act Business Toolkit, we will work with partners to distil key ‘no-regrets’ actions different size organisations can take for improving the future now. This will help support a movement of change, rather than a reliance on help that may never come.
A national food resilience plan
We will continue to promote good practice with our members and networks around the procurement and supply of local food for schools, the NHS, local authorities. Our recent celebration event with the Welsh Government Foundational Economy team and pioneering individuals and organisations showed what is happening now, and what is possible in the future.
Simplify partnerships and funding
We will continue to challenge public sector grant funding to be multiple years, and continue to challenge ourselves in working with the right partners or supporting others who are better placed to deliver.
Review and strengthen the Well-being and Future Generations Act
We will help use our history, and current experience and networks to help inform the future review. We were the lead partner of the previous ‘The Wales We Want’ National Conversation’ which helped inform the Act, and many of our staff helped set up the Future Generations Commissioner’s Office. We are proud of our history and want to continue to help others shape a better future for us all.
We want to make Ameerah proud!
Simon Slater, CEO
The 29th April marked the 10th anniversary of the Well-being of Future Generations Act becoming law in Wales. The Future Generations Report 2025 — is a statutory publication released every five years by the Future Generations Commissioner to track progress and guide the steps public bodies should take.
