TAFY- Tillery Action For You Ltd

So the warm weather continues and we keep on with the early mornings for Abertillery & Llanhilleth Community Council . Plants are starting to react to this prolonged hot spell but we are doing our best. Mandy was up at Brynbach park with young carers gardening Tuesday, Adult Social Services gardening on Wednesday. A great day was spent at the Rassau Senior Citizen Centre cutting back a large area of overgrown land. The heat was crazy from first thing but the team did a great job. We also got down to Cwm and started operation clear up ! We can't thank the staff and volunteers enough as the working condition are less than ideal but you do a brilliant job !
Unfortunately we waved goodbye to the last of the Heather's that were planted in the spring down at Abertillery underpass where the sheep decided that the buffet was too good to leave.

Hey the sun was shining again this week ! Our usual watering duties commenced on Monday and then throughout the week for Abertillery & Llanhilleth Community Council .Mandy & Tommy spent two days at Park Bryn Bach ( see separate post) working with two different groups. Neal , Jack , Oliver and Lewis did some great work on a few domestic gardens which ranged from a simple cut to a full w**d and tidy. Wednesday saw Neal and team working for a lovely customer that reached out to ask for a full garden makeover which had been become too difficult to manage. Photos of this to follow next week on completion, one more tonne of gravel to lay on top of the three completed this week ( all carried up some hefty steps at the front of the customers property). On Thursday Jack and Oliver undertook the building of a hexagonal planter ( not for the faint hearted). Which now sits pride of place in Aberbeeg . Well done boys and thank you for working so hard on this one for the community with Helen Cunningham - Cllr Josh Rawcliffe Plaid Cymru
Lots of learning and development this week for the team of staff and willing volunteers.
Brilliant work.

The watering for Abertillery & Llanhilleth Community Council continues and looks like it for some time yet ! Our teams are out most mornings by 5am trying to keep those beautiful plants alive ! With Mandy back from holiday she was up at Bryn Bach park with five willing volunteers tidying/watering and caring for all of the wonderful plants in our area. Wednesday placed Neal at Cwm for another volunteer induction day , three very willing and talented volunteers to add to our ever growing list. We made the decision at Cwm to cut the long grass back to reduce any risk of fire . Thursday Neal ran an 'Introduction to basic car maintenance ' session for Communities For Work Plus - Blaenau Gwent with some great feedback from the delegates. As always we are indebted to our team and our volunteers without whom we would be nothing.
Thanks to everyone for your support.

A week in pictures ....more of the same we are sorry but massive thanks to our dedicated team..

It's been another long hot week - but Thursday is the New Friday and thank heavens we're off tomorrow (just a shame we'll be back in watering over the weekend).

We have provided another lovely buffet this week for the sheep in and around Abertillery and Cwmtillery... but Oli and the rest of our team have been on hand to re-plant the tubs when the diners left the area.

Many thanks to the residents in Abertillery and Llanhilleth this week who helped with the watering, it was lovely to meet you even it if was in the wee early hours of the day when we should all be sleeping really!

For many a blue moon we have been volunteering and carrying out training at Cwm Meadows - but as of yesterday we can confirm that we have completed the 35 year lease for the site.

We've already installed some elements on site like the pergola and the community orchard, this week we've been installing the polytunnels and moving the one which was already built - working with Sam Sam the Egg Man https://www.facebook.com/EggSeeds

Over the coming months, years and decades - we'll be developing the site as a community asset where people can learn about biodiversity and their environment whilst we grow and provide fresh fruit and veg to local food banks and healthy eating initiatives. .. all whilst volunteering, gaining skills and making a huge difference to Cwm and the wider Blaenau Gwent community, we look forwards to working with the Cwm Primary School and the Flying start Centre next door!

Over the coming months we'll try and let you know more about our plans for the site, the people were already working with and what we can do together on site for people in Blaenau Gwent and especially Cwm.

Just as an initial taster - later this year we're looking to engage with the community in Cwm and plan a Halloween event at the meadows where we can have pumpkins for children to pick - and come along and have some food whilst celebrating all hallows eve!

Lots to do - and lots of people to engage with... please if you'd like to learn more about how you can engage with Cwm Meadows or your a community group in the area please drop us an email at [email protected]

A post today to explain our work with the Abertillery and Llanhilleth Community Council.

From Bourneville to Sofrydd there are 146 community planters and approximately 85 hanging baskets which over the past three years Tillery Action For You have been contracted by the Abertillery & Llanhilleth Community Council to provide seasonal planting in, maintain and water. Of the 146 planters exactly 100 are maintained by TAFY with the other 46 being looked after by community members and other organisations working directly with the Abertillery and Llanhilleth Community Council.

For three years now we have worked tirelessly growing plants and attending planters across the area making sure the displays are lovely – despite the quite often sheep raiders who seem to love the taste of our flowers!

But we are not responsible for where the planters are, nor are we responsible for how many planters are in the different areas – this is a contractual arrangement between ourselves and the Abertillery & Llanhilleth Community Council with whom we love working – our teams have received some very poor feedback recently about what certain areas do and don’t have… please be kind and understand that our teams are doing the very best they can always but are restricted in what we can and can’t do in certain areas.

Oh and pray for rain… we are at present transporting over 9,000 litres of water a week around Blaenau Gwent daily to water plants!