Nelson Wern Woodland Park has received nearly £35,000 in funding from a community scheme run by waste firm Biffa.
The grant has been used to provide a 10m boardwalk through an area of wet woodland that was previously inaccessible to the public, as well as to install bat and bird boxes along the route.
It is hoped that the bird boxes will increase the number of Willow Tits in the area – a bird classed by the RSPB as endangered.
A bird hide has also been constructed to allow members of the public to engage with wildlife at the pond.
The director of not-for-profit tourism company Eco-explore, which provides guided tours in the park has welcomed the grant.
Alexandra Pollard said: “Thanks to Biffaward, Nelson Wern will benefit from improvements to safeguard biodiversity for the future. The new boardwalk will protect the wet woodland whilst allowing visitors to gain safe access to engage with nature.”
Alison Jones, Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Principal Ecologist, said: “Nelson Wern is a Greenflag award winning park and is managed as much for the diversity of its wildlife as it is for people to enjoy.
“It covers 14.5 hectares of which 9.5 are inaccessible as it is dense woodland and very wet underfoot. Any attempt at making a path through the woods would quickly turn into a muddy and unusable surface, damaging the ecology on its way.
“The addition of a boardwalk through the trees allows a new circular walk, which travels alongside and over the Caiach stream, through the woods and out by the butterfly meadow, opening up a large part of the area for residents and visitors to enjoy whilst protecting the woodland from damage. The bird and bat boxes will also help to support a range of species, including the declining willow tit.”
Gillian French, Biffaward programme manager, said: “Our natural environment is there to be discovered and explored, and Biffaward is delighted to support projects which encourage communities to do so.”