If you are interested in attending this funding roadshow at Ty Derwen, Church Road, Newport on Friday, 14 October (10.00am) please find further information by following this link – http://www.wcva.org.uk/funding/wcva-funding/volunteering-wales-grants. If you have any questions or want to make a booking please contact clare.jones@gavowales.org.uk.r

Keep Wales Tidy has announced that this year’s Tidy Wales Awards will take place on Monday, 21 November at the Pierhead Building, Cardiff Bay. The awards, now in their 24th year, showcase Wales’ best un-sung environmental heroes- those volunteers who go the extra mile and groups who have made an outstanding contribution to their community and local environment. Applications for awards are now open. They’re looking for groups, schools and volunteers across Wales who deserve to be recognised for their hard work. Go to www.keepwalestidy.org/tidywalesawards to download an application form.

If you know someone who should be recognised- don’t delay and get the application form in today! Closing dates for applications: 5pm 24 October (all hard copies must reach the KWT office by 21 October 2016). For more information go to the Keep Wales Tidy website, follow them on Twitter @Keep_Wales_Tidy #TidyWalesAwards or phone 02920 341676.

This report is now available to download at http://www.naturalresources.wales/sonarr?lang=en. The report sets out the state of Wales’ natural resources. It assesses the extent to which natural resources in Wales are being sustainably managed, and recommends a proactive approach to building resilience. And – for the first time – the report links the resilience of Welsh natural resources to the well-being of the people of Wales. The official launch will be held in Cardiff on 3rd October.

NRW want to hear from you if you have evidence on the state of natural resources in Wales, the resilience of ecosystems, or their contribution to well-being. Please contact NRW at sonarr@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk.

The Gwent Fungus Group is marking UK Fungus Day (http://www.ukfungusday.co.uk/) with a fungus walk at Llandegfedd Reservoir on Sunday, 9 October. Meet at the Visitor Centre at 2.00pm and bring your fungi for identification.

Here is the link to Natural Resources Wales latest update on funding sources: https://naturalresources.wales/media/679359/funding-update-september-final.pdf.

GAVO are holding an open meeting to discuss the new National Lottery Rural Programme for Wales.  It will be at Little Mill Village Hall at 10.00am on Thursday, 29 September.  Details of the £13.5m programme are at https://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/global-content/programmes/wales/rural-programme-community-development-support – it’s all about partnership working to identify and meet rural community needs, especially poverty-related. Contact: mandy.moore@gavowales.org.uk.

‘If I’m getting this wrong and I don’t know what I’m talking about I’m the one who is going to look silly’: David Davies MP for Monmouthshire calling on the BBC to stage a debate between him and climate scientists.  He also claimed that ‘with my HGV licence I can outfox any of those so-called scientists as they simply do not know the answers to the pertinent questions on that matter.’  Some may recall such a debate at Abergavenny a couple of years ago, and will have come to their own conclusions on David’s silliness or otherwise.

CALM are holding a meeting at Newport Civic Centre at 7.00pm on Monday, 18 September to develop their campaign against the M4 relief road at the forthcoming public inquiry.  They urge you to attend if you can help in any way, but please let julianbranscombe@yahoo.com know as the room has limited capacity.

Anyone is very welcome to come and find out more about the Incredible Edible Usk pollinator garden at County Hall in Usk this Wednesday from 12 to 2pm.  They are holding a lunch time party to show people the garden, and to raise money for new tools (their last ones were stolen).  The garden is there for the whole community, not just council workers, so they would love to see some of you there.  They will be selling raffle tickets (including great prizes donated by staff and local garden centres) and for a small donation visitors can share in a delicious buffet incorporating some of the harvest grown in the garden!  For more information contact alisonhoward@monmouthshire.gov.uk or phone 01633 644844.

The county’s Climate Change Champions are encouraging involvement in ‘Our Monmouthshire’, the County Council’s engagement programme running over the next couple of months to help shape Monmouthshire’s new Wellbeing Assessment. The Wellbeing Assessment will inform the Wellbeing Plan that has to be produced for the county in 2018. There are lots of different events, locations and meetings around the county to try and find out from as wide a cross section as possible what people think is good about where they live and what they think could make it even better.

It would be good to get a strong environmental input into the Wellbeing Assessment, as in the past this theme has been weaker than other themes, so let them know what you think, either face to face, via the MCC website, via Twitter #ourmonmouthshire, or via Made Open (http://monmouthshire.madeopen.co.uk/issues/592).  There is an on-line survey at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScq_sf8At3imoKAs9G5QW6pNZwgyqxS7YDzrbBQupKtSrS4bw/viewform