A tree will be planted for each resident of Newport as part of Newport Environmental Action Group's (NEAG) biodiversity project to support habitat creation to improve biodiversity in and around the village.

The project will launch in June this year. A successful funding application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park's sustainable development fund was announced last week.

This will enable the project to employ a biodiversity and decarbonisation officer to run the project which will address the urgent need to act on climate change, focussing on three inter-related elements: community awareness and action, carbon sequestration and biodiversity and climate change reliance.

The community will be offered activities, workshops and a chance to take personal action to enhance biodiversity, mitigate climate change and raise awareness of critical environmental issues.

The project will engage local groups, Ysgol Bro Ingli and local homeowners and landowners in volunteering and nurturing and monitoring biodiversity as a way to change behaviours, increase social capital and foster community pride.

As part of its carbon sequestration aims, the project will plant around 1,200 trees, one for every member of Newport's population, in public open space and community areas, private land and gardens.

Native species will be chosen to provide food sources and breeding sites for wildlife and the community will be engaged throughout, from finding and offering sites, attending tree planting events and providing aftercare.

The project will encourage biodiversity in private gardens, inviting homeowners to improve their gardens for wildlife by planting wildflowers, leaving areas of lawn uncut, creating log piles and bug hotels, nesting boxes and wildlife ponds.

Gardeners maintaining Newport's second homes will be offered wildlife gardening training through the project and participating homeowners will receive stickers they can display to say that they are taking part.

The tree planting and wildlife gardens will feed into a biodiversity map of Newport, along with observations made by community members during a citizen science project.

"We are pleased to say, our project to support habitat creation to improve biodiversity in and around Newport has been successful," said NEAG's Siobhan Mcgovern.

"We look forward to working with the community to enhance Newport and the surrounding area for biodiversity."