BLOOMING SUCCESS

A flourishing wildlife garden in Deeside unveiled only last year has already won an award for conservation

Thenew wildlife corridor and wellbeing garden at Coleg Cambria Deeside has received a prize in the business category at the inaugural Bionet Awards. Bionet, the local nature partnership for North East Wales, praised the college for the creation of a biodiverse area featuring more than 2,000 native bulbs, fruit trees, hedgerows, bird, bat and hedgehog boxes, and space where students, staff and the

“Other departments and the college as a whole will benefit from this initiative long term as we have included development and maintenance of the site into our class schedule, working in partnership with stakeholders such as Keep Wales Tidy and local businesses. In future we will be using the garden for wellbeing sessions, including exercise and mindfulness, so it will have even more of an impact.”

A top job

Samantha Moore, the college’s curriculum director for Jobs Growth Wales added: “Coleg Cambria prides itself on the principles of togetherness, sustainability, the environment and education, so to be recognised for that is fantastic. I am so proud of all the hard work Brian and the whole Jobs Growth Wales+ team put in to receive this award. It is so deserved.” community can improve health and wellbeing.

Classroom assistant Brian Valentine and a group of Jobs Growth Wales+ learners, staff and members of the Construction Trainee Academy began work on the 40 square metre site 12 months ago as part of Keep Wales Tidy’s ‘Local Places for Nature’ project.

Brian was thrilled for them to be recognised with this accolade and said: “To win this award less than 12 months after the garden and wildlife corridor opened is a huge honour for us. As it’s a living, breathing project it will continue to evolve and grow, but this gives us a platform to do even more in the years ahead.

The 50kg baby

Chester Zoo welcomed a super-cute new arrival at the end of last year. Shire catches up with rare rhino calf Jiya as she grows… and grows…

Since Chester Zoo’s rare one-horned rhino Asha delivered her calf last October, mum and daughter have bonded closely, say keepers, with little Jiya sporting the same slightly wrinkled armoured plating as her parents.

Listed as ‘Vulnerable to Extinction’ on the Red List of threatened species, there are estimated to be only around 3,000 rhinos like Jiya left in the wild.

The Bionet Awards, held at Venue Cymru, Llandudno, featured eight categories, including prizes for high schools, volunteers, community groups, primary schools and town or community councils. The awards spokesperson added: “Bionet believes it is important to celebrate successes achieved for biodiversity. In the face of the ecological emergency, a lot of the news we hear has a negative narrative but there are lots of people making a positive impact through local actions, including Brian and the team at Coleg Cambria. They were fully deserving of the award, and we wish them well with the project going forward.”

Sam Harley, rhino team manager said: “The sheer size of this species is incredible. Jiya was born weighing 50kg and will grow to around 1.7 tonnes. But despite their stature, they have a really soft side. They have been so relaxed and calm, spending time side by side bonding.

Under threat

“In the wild, rhinos are under threat from habitat loss, as well as poaching,” explained Sam. “These prehistoric-looking animals lose their lives for their horns, which are used in traditional Asian medicine. There’s no proof these medicines work, meaning these gentle giants are slaughtered for no reason. This is what makes our work so important. Asha, Jiya and dad Beni help our two million visitors a year to connect with this magnificent species. At one point, there were less than 200 in the wild so it’s a real privilege to be able to care for them.”

Gate Expectations

Gate Expectations

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