THE designs for the commemorative woodland in Carmarthenshire have been revealed.

Natural Resources Wales have shared the designs for the commemorative woodland at Brownhill in the Tywi Valley today, January 19.

The woodland is one of three to be established to commemorate those who died during the covid-19 pandemic.

The designs come following feedback from two public consultations that were held last year for ideas for the design of the woodland.

Brownhill will be divided into three areas, a conservation space which will allow wildlife to flourish, a woodland space for commemoration which will be fully accessible and a growing space for sustainable opportunities for food, trees and nature.

The plans include improvements to public access to the site, including a new car park, footbridges and walking routes.

Part of the conservation space will be left to develop naturally into ‘riparian woodland’ with minimal intervention. This will help to improve biodiversity in the area and promote a health and active flood plain.

There will be native broadleaf woodland in the woodland space which will provide a green space for quiet reflection and there will be a mixture of species including oak, hornbeam, small leaved lime, hazel and crab apple trees planted to help with resilience against the threat of climate change, pests and diseases.

There will be benches around the woodland space and fruit and nut trees.

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Miriam Jones Walters, land stewardship specialist advisor for Natural Resources Wales, said: “It’s really exciting to be able to share the designs for the space at Brownhill and we’d like to thank everyone who took the time to share their feedback with us and help us shape the plans for the site, whether that was in person at one of our drop-in events or via our online consultation or email.

“When designing a new woodland, the feedback we receive from local residents and stakeholders is invaluable and we’ve listened carefully to people’s views and concerns.

“The growing space area will provide an exciting opportunity for us to work as part of a long-term partnership with a community group or local farming business, to test out and demonstrate land use proposals to tackle the climate and nature emergencies, integrated with productive agriculture.

“We’re also keen to provide opportunities for volunteers to help us plant the site and look forward to be able to share more details in due course.”

The plans can be viewed in more detail at https://ymgynghori.cyfoethnaturiol.cymru/south-west-wales-de-orllewin-cymru/commemorative-woodland-at-brownhill-designs-and-ne/