Chris McGuigan Memorial Garden receives Green Flag Community Award

Chris McGuigan Memorial Garden at the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences achieves coveted Green Flag Community Award

The School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, with the help of the Cardiff University Wildlife and Conservation Society has been unveiled as one of this year’s Keep Wales Tidy Green Flag Award winners – the international mark of a quality park or green space.

In total, 101 community managed green spaces in Wales have met the high standard needed to receive the prestigious Green Flag Community Award (83 in 2016/17).

The flag will be flying at the Chris McGuigan Memorial Garden in recognition of its excellent facilities and commitment to delivering great quality green space.

Sam Hillman from the Wildlife and Conservation Society says “we are thrilled to have helped work towards the Green Flag Community Award. The support from the Pharmacy Engagement team and Buglife have helped volunteer students learn more about creating wildlife-friendly urban spaces and helped us all come together to work towards a pollinator-friendly community garden and to help start work on a suitable memorial for the late Professor Chris McGuigan. We hope that we can build upon this excellent news and continue transforming the Redwood Building grounds to be as impressive as they deserve to be.

The Green Flag Award scheme is delivered in Wales by environmental charity, Keep Wales Tidy, with support from Welsh Government. It is judged by green space experts, who volunteer their time to visit applicant sites and assess them against eight strict criteria, including horticultural standards, cleanliness, environmental management and community involvement.

Lucy Prisk, Green Flag Coordinator at Keep Wales Tidy said:

“The Green Flag Award is all about connecting people with the very best parks and green spaces. Keep Wales Tidy is proud to run the scheme in Wales because we know having a good quality environment can have a big impact on our communities, health and well-being, and economy.

“We’re delighted to be celebrating another record breaking year for the Green Flag Community Award. The success of these sites is down to the commitment of local volunteers who work tirelessly to raise the standard of our green spaces. It’s thanks to them that we have so many fantastic facilities on our doorstep.”