21 November 2025
We are delighted to announce that Gnoll Country Park Visitor Centre is the winner of this year's Green Flag Award UK Best of the Best for 'Best Habitat / Biodiversity Project'!
We are delighted to announce that Gnoll Country Park Visitor Centre is the winner of this year's Green Flag Award UK Best of the Best for 'Best Habitat / Biodiversity Project'! This recognition celebrates their innovative and successful approach to enhancing biodiversity and visitor engagement through the 'GNOLLYWOOD' initiative.
A Striking Entrance Meets Crucial Habitat
Previously, the main entrance at Gnoll Country Park lacked impact and clear signage. Working in partnership, NPT Wildlife and the park team addressed this by installing large, striking 'bug hotel' letters that spell out "GNOLL" at the Fairyland entrance—quickly dubbed "GNOLLYWOOD."
This installation serves two primary goals:
-
To create a memorable and striking sense of arrival that instantly promotes the park's focus on nature.
-
To create essential nesting and hibernating habitat for insects, complementing the park's major shift in land management.
The Transformation: From Golf Course to SINC Meadow
The GNOLLYWOOD sign is just one part of a much larger ecological transformation. The park has courageously allowed its old, underused golf course to transition into vital meadows.
This strategic move is designed to:
-
Increase the amount of wildflower habitat in Neath Port Talbot, directly contributing to tackling the nature crisis and the loss of pollinating insects.
-
Educate the public on the importance of habitat creation and help improve public perception of meadows, showing they are not just "untidy long grass," but critical ecosystems.
The project’s success has been ecologically significant. Following an ecological survey that recorded over 30 plant species, including the magnificent Southern Marsh Orchid, the Gnoll Meadows have now been officially recognised as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC), marking a huge step forward in their ecological journey!
Increased footfall and social engagement
The combined efforts have yielded exceptional results in both conservation and visitor interaction:
-
Biodiversity success: The wildflowers have flourished, and the GNOLL bug hotel has already welcomed various bee and insect species during its first summer season.
-
Visitor engagement: The project has sparked massive social media engagement, resulting in a hugely increased visitor footfall to what was previously an underused area. Visitors love taking photos with the sign, promoting the park far and wide.
-
Community conversation: Since implementation, the park has generated significant interest and conversation about biodiversity and wildlife, leading to increased interest in volunteer engagement.
The Gnoll Country Park Visitor Centre has demonstrated an exemplary model of how to creatively tackle the nature crisis on public land while simultaneously boosting community pride and visitor access to enhanced wildflower grasslands. Their use of both physical signage and digital platforms (social media, website) to communicate the success of this new SINC area is outstanding.
We celebrate Gnoll Country Park for their dedication to conservation and for setting a high standard for habitat and biodiversity enhancement!
