Following on from the successful work of the CEYOU project where young people were involved in local forums on circular economy, working directly with their elected representatives to create and implement action plans, Pontydysgu has teamed up with Pontypridd based artists and creatives for some tech enhanced art eco activism.

With support from Arts Council Wales and other match funders we are taking a playful approach to community engagement in environmental education. The concept works in a similar vein to guerilla gardening where residents adopt an umaintained patch of land or comandeer their nearest grass verge and plant it up with flowers, veggies or herbs. We have declared that the whole of Pontypridd, our concrete and stone, abandoned shop units, old terraced houses, and wonky pubs included, is now a nature reserve.

And yes, we want to have every tongue-in-cheek and every serious conversation about it. What does it mean to be a nature reserve? Have we actually got anything worth protecting? Will the patrons of Fila Pita be granted protected species status?

We'll be working closely with young people from the CEYOU youth forum and other groups to plan our activities but over the next couple of years you an expect nature walks, photo competitions, QR code quizzes, biodiversity surveys, updates on the Ponty bridge pigeon and a guide to caring for Cilfynydd's infamous troupe of SAS trained escape-sheep.