THE MS for Arfon, Siân Gwenllian, has visited Parc Padarn Country Park to congratulate them on their Green Flag Award.

Parc Padarn Country Park is an 800-acre park in the Snowdonia village of Llanberis.

Within its confines lie the Quarry Hospital Museum, the Llanberis Lake Railway, the National Slate Museum, water sport facilities, Chwarel Vivian, 8km of walking trails, a nature reserve, a Special Site of Scientific Interest, Coed Dinorwig, Llyn Padarn, Lôn Las Peris, and launching pontoons for canoes, rowing and sailing boats.

The country park was awarded he Green Flag Award, an international accreditation given to public parks and open spaces.

The award brands itself as “the international mark of quality”.

The Green Flag Award was first awarded in 1997, and on every occasion that Parc Padarn has applied for the award, they have been successful.

The scheme’s objective is to maintain standards and best practice in UK green spaces and the criteria for accreditation includes environmental management, biodiversity, landscape and heritage, and community involvement.

Ms Gwenllian said: “We’ve gained a deeper appreciation of outdoor spaces in the past few years.

“Visiting them was the highlight of the day for many during the COVID lockdowns.

“And as we start to think differently about mindfulness and the positive impact of open space and exercise on our mental and physical wellbeing, places like Parc Padarn will be even more crucial.

“The work done here, and the resources offered, bind together the principles of leisure, culture, and education.

“It’s this sort of cross-departmental thinking that is needed to make sure tourism is sustainable and works for local people as well.

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“The myriad of criteria points that must be met to be awarded a green flag testifies to the hard work done by a dedicated but small workforce at Parc Padarn.

“I’m glad to have had the opportunity to thank and congratulate them. It’s clear that the job satisfaction they receive in this line of work is priceless.

“I was told one story of a group of schoolchildren from the north of England who returned to Parc Padarn a year after their first visit having learnt the Welsh national anthem and presented the team with tea from Yorkshire.

“Despite the challenges that this part of Wales faces, and we must get to grips with those challenges, those sorts of anecdotes symbolise the truly Welsh and locally viable tourism that we should strive to create in Eryri.”