A group of young offenders are helping to make a beauty spot even more beautiful – and more accessible for local people. The Moss Valley Country Park, between Gwersyllt and Brynteg, is a former coal mining area that’s undergone a dramatic transformation. It’s now a haven of tranquillity providing a rich habitat for wildlife after the spoil heaps were reclaimed in the 1970s.
A network of footpaths runs alongside the lakes and through woodland of oak and beech. The young offenders have started installing seven oak benches throughout the valley as well as clearing footpaths.
They’ve been ordered by local magistrates to do unpaid work that’s of benefit to the community as a way of paying their dues to society. The Moss Valley project is being supervised by the Community Justice Interventions Wales who work in partnership with the North Wales Probation Area and the local Youth Offending Team.
Community Punishment Dave Evans was delighted that his team was able to lend a helping hand. He said: “It is a really beautiful spot and a lovely place to come but there’s a lot of work that needs to be done here. The young offenders are having to provide their labour free of charge as a way of paying back to the community for what they have done. At the same time they are learning new skills that will hopefully stand them in good stead in the future. We’re using old fashioned techniques to install the benches. Rather than using cement or anything like that that’s caustic, we’re tamping down the soil that we’re taking out and tamping it solid. It’s very eco-friendly. They’re also learning to work as part of a team which is very important and will help them later in life. We work in conjunction with the Park Ranger - he gets the jobs done that he wants done a lot quicker and free of charge. All they have to supply is the materials because all the labour is free of charge – so it’s a good deal for everyone concerned.
“I think the team are proud of what they’re doing and they get a sense of achievement as well. At the end of every day they can see what they have done, these are very tangible results. Hopefully, they’ll visit the Moss Valley again and perhaps enjoy it in the future - maybe when they’ve got children of their own. They’ll be able to say ‘I did this’.”
Team member Ashley Evans, 18, was entranced by the beautiful surroundings of the Moss Valley. He said: “I think the place is amazing, I’d like to go fishing here one day. I feel like I’m doing something good, it’s better than sitting at home. I’ve also been doing job for a disabled man, Mark Williams, in Wrexham, we did all his back garden for him. That was also a really nice project to work on and Mark loved it - he really thinks his garden is tidy. I was glad to do it, helping people that can’t do things themselves.”
Fellow team member Amy Jones, 18, added: “Community Punishment is a good idea because it helps people in the community, like old people, they can come down here and sit on benches now. It does make me feel really proud of doing them because I wouldn’t want to be old and walk for miles without a bench to have a rest.”
