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Van Ward Allotments have landed their second ‘Best of the Best’ award, this time for providing green space for women and girls.

The national Green Flag awards crowned the allotment on Castle Park, Caerphilly, the best ‘climate change adaptation’ space in 2023 after it installed solar panels and a bore hole to provide fresh water.

This year however, the allotment has been recognised for providing more opportunities for women and girls to access the site.

Chair Tracey Davies explained: “When I first joined the allotments 18 years ago it was just me and two other women.

“It’s been slow progress, but by trying to remove the stigma of owning a plot being just a male thing, we’re proud to say our membership is almost at a 50/50 split.”

Tracey and the team have also taken practical measures to increase female participation, including making plots smaller and more manageable, and adding more raised beds so older members don’t need to bend so much.

“It’s proved really successful. We also have a space in the back of the hub where kids can colour and chill out if they get tired of being out in the allotment.

“It’s still the case that women typically have less time to do things than men, what with childcare and the like. We hope to see our numbers continue to grow.”

Sitting at a healthy 90 members, Tracey added how the group has benefited from council-led wellbeing walks each week.

She added: “We had a few looks when we went on our Halloween walk around St Fagans dressed as witches, but it was good fun.”

With their solar panels now back and operational, Tracey said how they plan to open as a warm hub this winter.