A key element to the rejuvenation of the valley was community involvement. Wasteland in the Swansea Valley was turned into themed parks, with attractive shopping and office facilities. The plan would include planted woodlands. The City Council of Swansea employed a Conservator from 1968 to 1976 with the aim of encouraging local community involvement.
Conservators gave public and school study tours of the flora and fauna which was returning to the valley. Local school children were also involved in the tree planting sessions for a number of years. In 1979 twelve local schools were entered in the Shell ‘Better Britain’ competition for their work on conservation projects in the valley.
In 1976 Reverend Hunt helped organise young people into youth clubs to work on small projects in the valley. The work of the group ranged from small management projects to tree planting. The group won a Prince of Wales’ Award, as well as grants from local sponsors such as the Halfway Hatters.
In 1978 The Valley Rangers club was formed, holding its first meeting in St Margaret’s Church Hall, Bonymaen. By 1980 there were over 300 members, each with a card that told the Ranger ‘He who plants a tree thinks of others – as well of himself’.
