Greening Cathays Community Projects
Introduction
Research has shown that increased time spent in green spaces can reduce long-term health problems such as heart disease, cancer, and musculoskeletal conditions – and alleviate the severity of stress-related symptoms. Being around nature calms us and takes our minds off the business of everyday life and stressful situations. In a recent survey of Cathays, residents indicated a desire for more green spaces in built up areas of the ward.
To address this desire for more green space the Pharmabees team of Cardiff university in partnership with the community and supported by funding from the Shared prosperity fund have seeded a number project across Cathays, details of which can be found in the following sections.
Cathays Bee Trail
Pupils from St. Monica and Allensbank Primary Schools created bee-themed drawings exhibited at the Nature on Our Doorstep exhibition. Visitors voted for their favourites, and we selected key elements to fit the trail and highlight bee facts. The chosen drawings were slightly adapted for coated water-cut or engraved steel signs. Here are the concept visuals for the stops.
Design by Valentine Gigandet
Bee trail idea, bee facts and supervision by Les Baillie.
Illustrations by pupils from St Monica and Allensbank primary schools.
Fanny Street Planters
As part of joint project between Cardiff council and Cardiff university we installed, in 2020, three planters along Fanny Street in Cathays and seeded them with pollinator friendly plants. In 2024 it was decided to refresh the planters and to add colour to the local environment.
In a partnership between Wall-Op Murals wall-op.co.uk and local community gardeners the planters were replanted with drought-tolerant, sustainable plants which support pollinators. Bold, colourful mural designs which mimic the forms of plant anatomy and use colours that reflect how bees perceive the world, were wrapped around the planters ensuring a cohesive visual identity across all locations.
Information about individual planting schemes and maintenance can be accessed via the following link: Click here for more info
Bee Huts
Anna is the resident artist at Gladstone Primary School and with the pupils’ help, they explored the needs of bees and how to support them, translating their learning into meaningful creative actions for the environment.
Students were guided in designing solitary bee huts, collaborating on the design process, and understanding how their work could benefit the ecosystem. Through litter-picking exercises, they not only cleaned the streets but also repurposed the collected waste into bee-themed mosaics that now adorn the huts.
Nature Wildlife Videos
Digital stories based on the nature in Cathays created thought a partnership with the Sherman and Theatre and four local primary schools: The Muslim primary school, Gladstone Primary School, St Monica’s CW Primary and Allensbank Primary School.
The Sound of Nature
Using a device called a PlantWave which converts changes plants into sound, we created a short video which captures how Lavender plants responded to the presence of Butterflies and bees on a summers day.
Meet The Bees & Hedgehogs of Cathays
Drawings by pupils from The Muslim primary school, Gladstone Primary School, St Monica’s CW Primary and Allensbank Primary School which capture nature in Cathays.
The Hedgehogs of Cathays
In a joint project between primary school children, local resident, Cardiff university and with the help of Buffoon Media we are creating a video story about the hedgehogs of Cathays created using real world recordings of hedgehogs captured by wildlife video camera positioned across Cathays.
The team from Buffoon will work with the children to create a story which will be used to raise awareness of these endangered Cardiff residents.
Creation of a wellbeing and pollinator garden in the grounds of Cardiff Muslim Primary School on Maindy Road.
Cardiff Muslim Primary School was founded in 1999, located in a small urban space between Merthyr Street and Maindy Road. In 2024, it changed its name to ILM to reflect a growing reputation for excellence.
With the help of the children we are creating a small pollinator and wellbeing garden on the north-east side of the school, facing Merthyr Street.
Placemaking project at Roy Jenkins University Hall, Crwys Road
To provide food and create a welcoming environment for urban pollinators we have seeded a 50m2 area of grass with a pollinator friendly wildflower seeds mix to create a wildflower meadow. We have also installed two sets of planters which will be used to growth vegetables and it is hoped, support the creation of an urban community garden.
A placemaking project at Cathays Train Station to design a space to connect with nature
Cathays Train Station sits at the heart of the Cathays Ward, next to Cardiff University Students’ Union and a short walk from the Welsh Government and other civic buildings in Cathays. Its also used by local residents to access the centre of the city and other parts of the UK. This makes it a key site within the ward, connecting residents, workers and students. In its current form it is an unwelcoming space and as part of the project we have developed a design concept as to how part of access route could be transformed into an area which allowed individuals to connect with nature. The plan was created with community consultation
Feedback from the community Spring 2025
In an effort to assess the willingness of local residents to engage in environmental projects in Cathays we asked the following questions at public events in March 2025 supported by the project.
How important do you think it is to have green space in your local area?
Yes Maybe No
58 32 3
Before today, were you aware of the wildlife in Cathays?
Yes Maybe No
62 66 16
If you had the time, would you support activities to make Cathays a greener place?
Yes Maybe No
129 43 55