Wales Climate Week 2024

This week marks Wales Climate Week 2024, bringing people together from across Wales to learn and explore innovative solutions for tackling and adapting to climate change. 

Wales Climate Week takes place from 11-15 November 2024, bringing together stakeholders from across the public, private, voluntary sectors, and the wider community to discuss climate change adaptation and sustainable practices.

Aligned to the Football Association of Wales’ (FAW’s) Sustainability Strategy 2030, ‘Cymru, Well-Being and the World’, the FAW’s mission is to develop a sustainable game across the country, one that contributes towards a healthier, more sustainable nation, ensuring a better quality of life for current and future generations.

‘Cambrian United’, a new documentary on RedWall+ highlights sustainability initiatives that clubs across Wales are adopting to support the environment. 

Phil Williams Operations Director, Cambrian Village Trust said: “The cafe facility is the hub for the local people. Its main target is how we can serve our community. The site here is quite unique to the Rhondda, you’d go a long way to find another location like this, it’s special. 

“The projects and programmes we’re able to support the community with, like the zero waste gift shop that’s plastic free, the environment fits into that. In terms of having our hydro plant, we try to think of the environmental impact in everything that we provide here.”

The hydro plant has been converted to supply the cafe with electricity. The whole cafe is run from the power of the hydro plant. The water to run the hydro is supplied from the local lake.

Speaking about the hydro plant Gareth Thomas, Volunteer Micro Hydro Engineer at Cambrian United said: “Engineering is my background, but I also love the mining side of things and the valley itself and what we can produce in the valleys of south Wales if we put a bit of thought into it.

“It gives you that sense of pride. There’s a button that shows the demand of the cafe at that moment and when it shows zero you think, I’m supplying that and I go home smiling thinking about it.”

Find out more about how you can help create a sustainable Cymru at faw.cymru/faw-sustainability/