The Caerphilly Miners Community Centre - Climate Change Garden

About The Caerphilly Miners Community Centre - Climate Change Garden

The Climate Change Garden was created to transform the car park and site of demolished buildings of the former Caerphilly Miners Hospital now the Caerphilly Miners Centre for the Community. Its aim is to promote issues such as carbon reduction, biodiversity, health and wellbeing.

The front garden at the Caerphilly Miners Centre was originally designed by Fiona Cloke, Landscape Architecture Environmental Planning. Work began on the garden in late 2021 and it was evident that the garden would need to incorporate materials and resources already available. The consequence was that the planning and planting was adapted and designed by Chris O’Meara, lead gardening volunteer.

We installed a wildlife pond surrounded by planting which is biodiverse, encourages local fauna and can survive flood, drought and our changing Welsh weather. The same principles have been used in the plant selection of the formal border and the looser planting of the wildflower bank. We have installed a mini stumpery, a clematis covered gazebo, are experimenting with cut flower beds and dahlia border to show how easy it is to grow exotic flowers at home. We have also tried to create a beautiful palette of winter, spring, summer and autumn colours and interest to all visitors to the garden.

In progress is a drought resistant garden on a gravel-covered patch of hard core. The garden is planted with grasses and perennials that will survive without any additional watering and create year round colour.

The volunteer gardeners have created a children’s area with space to explore sensory planting and wildlife observation.