A group of Coleg Gwent students and staff from Usk Campus have been helping to clear the grounds of a local church in preparations for the forthcoming Remembrance Parade in November.

The group made up of Level 2 Agricultural and Level 2 Animal Care students have been volunteering their time over the past 3 weeks as part of their Welsh Baccalaureate Challenge.

They have been tidying up the ground of the Priory Church of St Mary’s in Usk by cutting back old bramble bushes and clearing overgrown gravestones, even managing to uncover some old head stones that had been covered over for many years with growing weeds and debris. The group will continue to support the church with these types of activities in the future.

Vicar Kevin Hasler said: “I would like to convey the thanks of the Parish Council and myself to everyone involved, we are very grateful to them all. Their efforts have made a big difference to the appearance of the church grounds in time for our forthcoming memorial services.”

Lecturer Sherrie Harris said: “The students have shown excellent skills and great commitment in completing this task. They have worked extremely hard to clear the area ready for this special event at the church. It was a great opportunity to helping the local community, I am very proud of the learners that took part and of the great results that they achieved.”

In addition to this work at the church another group from the College, including level 1 Animal care and Level 2 Countryside Management students, have also been working hard in the town litter picking in the park area and the Usk Island area with Keep Wales Tidy.

Thomas Jackson Ward from KWT said “I was happy to be able to help the Coleg Gwent students to find volunteering opportunities. This kind of work is great for them and the community alike. The students responded well to my presentation on the issue of litter in a local and global context with a focus on marine litter as part of a Monmouthshire Coast Care project sponsored by NRW. The students really engaged with this in watercourse related clean ups in the Berthin Brook and by the Usk.”

Sherrie Harris continued: “The learners have worked very hard to ensure that they supported Keep Wales Tidy from attending a talk from Tom to taking part in the event for three weeks. We are very proud of all the effort the students put in.”