The local nature reserve in Freshwater East has benefitted from a cash injection thanks to an environmental grant scheme run by Keep Wales Tidy and funded by Tesco.

Members of the voluntary group, FERN (Freshwater East Reserve for Nature), were thrilled to hear that they'd been successful in applying for an All Wales Grant of nearly £400 which they then used to buy tools to help them with their work parties in the local nature reserve in Freshwater East.

Rowland Sturdy, of Lydstep Garden Centre, provided good advice on what tools to choose and also kindly offered a discount. FERN bought leather gardening gloves, loppers, secateurs and a saw from him. FERN also bought some litter-picking tools from The Helping Hand Company who have a special offer for Keep Wales Tidy groups.

Community groups, schools and charitable organisations across Wales were invited to apply to the All Wales Grant Scheme from November 2014, with grants of £100 to £500 available to help them with their very own green initiatives.

Run by the environmental charity, Keep Wales Tidy and funded by Tesco's single use carrier bag charge, the aim of the All Wales Grant Scheme is to assist communities across Wales in real environmental actions, both financially and practically, to help improve their local environment.

As part of their environmental project, FERN volunteers used some of the gardening equipment which they bought with the grant to clear weeds from around fruit trees in their community orchard and to clear nettles and brambles from a newly seeded wildflower verge.

Vicky Tomlinson from FERN said: "Our new gardening gloves were great at protecting us from scratches and nettle stings and the new loppers will help us to keep the brambles at bay from the footpaths in the nature reserve".

For more information on the All Wales Grant Scheme, please e-mail [email protected]">[email protected] or visit the web site http://www.keepwalestidy.org">www.keepwalestidy.org. You can also contact Keep Wales Tidy's local Pembrokeshire project officer, Mari Williams, on 01646 694800.