Ham Woods flies the Green Flag
Ham Woods Nature Reserve has been awarded a prestigious Green Flag. The Green Flag Awards are the national standard of excellence for parks and green spaces
This is the first time that Plymouth City Council has submitted Ham Woods to be considered for a Green Flag and now the council are proud to be able to say that Ham Woods is one of only a very few Nature Reserves to be given the award.
This accolade is only thanks to the hard work and dedication of Friends of Ham Wood who have worked tirelessly with officers from the council, planting trees, improving access and the environment and making Ham Woods a pleasant place to be.
This is the second award that has been won by the Friends of Ham Wood in recent weeks. They have also been given the Devon & Cornwall Police Partnership Community Volunteer Awards - Community Group of the Year, because of their efforts to deal with incidents of arson and graffiti, reporting incidents quickly and clearing them up.
Plymouth City Council Leader Tudor Evans said: “I am absolutely delighted, I know that Ham Woods is a nice place to spend time, now the Green Flag gives it a recognised seal of approval which tells everyone else that it is worthy of a visit. A huge well done to all friends and volunteers.”
A range of free outdoor activities and events are taking place across the city’s parks and green spaces as part of Love Parks Week and throughout the summer, some of these will take place at Ham Wood Nature Reserve including Weaving and Woodcraft on 30 July and Scything on 28 July.
The Green Flag scheme recognises and rewards the best green spaces in the country. It is also seen as a way of encouraging others to achieve the same high environmental standards and creates a benchmark of excellence in green spaces.
To meet the Green Flag Award standard the judges are looking for green spaces to be healthy welcoming places that are safe and secure, clean, well-maintained and sustainable. The management of the green space must involve the community, pay attention to conservation and heritage and include marketing of the site.
