For ‘teas in the Trees and Activities please’ on Sunday 13th August 2017,  Andy Maddock has kindly organised a woodland ‘treasure’ hunt similar to the style of Geocaching but just within the woodland.

The gist of it is to follow a map or use GPS to find orange buckets which will have picture key rings inside. You put the one you have into the bucket, take the new one and do the same at the next point. The rest will be explained on the day but thank you Andy for organising this!

A great way of getting to know our woodland and having fun at the same time .

For people who are ‘friends of Blaen Bran’ (current members) a lovely get together on Saturday 12th August 2017.

The next meteor shower is supposed to be happening – how great would it be if we have clear skies and we’re able to watch it from our beautiful woodland.

Keep Wales Tidy has unveiled this year’s 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 Blaen Bran Community Woodland in recognition of its excellent facilities and commitment to delivering great quality green space.

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.

A full list award winners can be found on the Keep Wales Tidy website www.keepwalestidy.cymru/greenflag

Please see the press release

BBCW Green Flag

Teas in the trees will be running throughout the summer holidays (other than bank holiday Sunday weekend) and there’ll be a little something for children/big adult children to do at their leisure.

Open to all.

Also if people want to come and help, the more the merrier!

Click the image to expand it.

The August picture in the 2018 BBCW calendar will belong to the winner of the ‘creative competition’.

It needs to be about the woodland (in the summer months) but can be anything as long as we can take a photo of it or scan it in, in order to be printed in the calendar.

Categories will be 6 years and under, 7-11 and 12 to 16.

The winner will also get a full year’s family membership and a tree to plant too.

Deadline ready for voting will be the end of August.

We held a Den Day in 2015 and again in August 2016 and we will hold another Den Day in 2017.

POSTPONED – WE WILL LET YOU KNOW THE NEW DATE SOON

Feel free to turn up any time, we will direct you to a place where you can build your den.
We ask for a donation of £2 which will go to Save the Children.
We will provide branches, sticks and leaves but feel free to gather your own.
It’s a great activity for a family and proved great fun last time.
Some Dads even let the children help!

Sue will be helping and refreshments will be available.
So come along and join in even if you don’t have children with you !!

Postponed, we will let you know the new date soon … starting at 2pm at the Log Circle.
Children and adults welcome.

Raising money for Save the Children

Our local fire service will be bringing some young firefighters up to Blaen Bran on Tuesday 6th and Tuesday 13th June for a training exercise.

They will be bringing one engine into the woodland and will probably go to the area close to our charcoal oven, at the far end of the service track.

This is a planned activity with  no need to be alarmed.

Join us for some Easter fun! Sunday 16th April.  Click here for more details

Volunteers have planted over a thousand trees already this winter, and now we have another thousand to plant!!!

So why not join us on Sunday 2nd April, setting off from the log circle at 10am, we’ll make our way up to the planting area in the top, clear felled, section.

Anyone arriving later than 10am can make their own way up to the top (take the main track up to the pond, turn right towards the Mountain Air end, and after approx 150 metres take the left track into the felled area – look out for the Blaen Bran flag!!
We’ll remind everyone nearer to the day

Another date for your diaries!
We are supporting Keep Wales Tidy and Torfaen CBC in their campaign to have a Spring Clean-up across the borough.
At Blaen Bran on our next Volunteering Sunday – March 5th we are looking for volunteers to litter pick the woodland, and also our car park and The Square. We’ll have a bunch of “grabbers” (litter pickers) available from Steve. Meeting at the log circle at 10am, we’ll spread out from there, meeting back up for a cuppa.