1. Will the First Minister make a statement on the Local Places for Nature scheme? OQ57125

Llywydd, Local Places for Nature is an excellent example of Government and community groups working together to create and improve green spaces, making a real difference close to where people live. Hundreds of local schemes have already been completed, with many more to follow.

Diolch, Prif Weinidog. I recently visited the Rabbit Hill Community Woodland in my constituency and the wonderful volunteers working on the project. The wood sits adjacent to the Duffryn estate and had sadly slipped into disuse following years of neglect. However, in 2017 it received funding from the Create your Space campaign, which was backed by both the Welsh Government and the National Lottery Community Fund. The impact this fund is having is profound, and it's so nice to see the wood being returned as a place that the community can both enjoy and be proud of. Campaigns such as Create your Space and Local Places for Nature are invaluable, but more can always be done to improve our natural environment. How is the Welsh Government planning to build on these schemes to ensure that everyone in Wales can enjoy the benefits of green spaces?

Well, Llywydd, I thank Jayne Bryant for what she said about the current schemes and for the excellent example from her own constituency. Over the first year of the Local Places for Nature scheme, a scheme designed to bring nature to people's doorsteps, 82 new community orchards were established, 520 new gardens were opened, and over 73,000 bulbs were planted. And that's just one part of what this scheme has provided, and we are committed to go on with the scheme, working with our partners, for example in Keep Wales Tidy, to go on making that difference close to where people live. 

The climate emergency committee, Llywydd, tells us that 60 per cent of the changes that are needed to be taken to reduce carbon emissions will rely on individuals choosing to act differently. This scheme is designed to bring that difference close to where people live, and alongside COP26, of course, we will have COP Cymru here in Wales. Each week, there will be an event bringing many, many people together, looking at what more we can do. The first one, to be held on 6 November, later this week, in mid Wales, will be focused on nature-based solutions, and that will allow us to do exactly what Jayne Bryant asked, to find even more ways in which we can make this scheme reconnect people to nature-based solutions in their own areas, contributing to Wales's effort on that great climate change mission on which we are all embarked. 

First Minister, I welcome the Local Places for Nature scheme, and I look forward to increasing access to and enjoyment of nature and our rural areas for a wider Welsh audience. I remember as a child having the countryside code taught to me in school, and I am sure you did, as did many others in this Chamber. It provided advice on how to make sure that our enjoyment of the countryside did not impact on wildlife and livestock, and helped teach people to respect, protect and enjoy rural landscapes. In July of this year, the Country Land and Business Association launched its countryside code educational pack, which brought a fresh approach to teaching the code. First Minister, with the increase in visitors to our countryside, what plans does your Government have to work with organisations such as the CLA to update and relaunch the much-loved countryside code to a new generation? Diolch. 

[Inaudible.]

I think we may have lost the connection to the First Minister. I'm going to call for a short technical break, to see—. [Interruption.] First Minister, are you able to hear us clearly? I think the answer to that is 'no'. So, we'll take a short technical break and we'll see if we can resume the connection quite quickly.

Plenary was suspended at 13:35.

The Senedd reconvened at 13:37, with the Llywydd (Elin Jones) in the Chair.

Okay, we're resuming. If I can just confirm with the First Minister whether he was able to hear the question from Samuel Kurtz, or does he need it repeated?

Llywydd, I heard the bulk of Mr Kurtz's question—enough, I hope, to be able to agree with him that the increased numbers of visitors to the Welsh countryside does bring with it a different obligation on people to make sure that they do so in a way that is respectful of what is required of them. I thank the CLA for the work that they have done in refreshing the countryside code. Teaching these things in our schools is very important, and, as we know, we have a very receptive audience indeed amongst our school population.

Llywydd, alongside the net-zero plan that the Welsh Government published last week, we published a companion document, illustrating over 100 actions that different individuals and organisations have committed themselves to. I was particularly struck by what pupils at Ysgol Mynyddygarreg said. In their pledge, they said,

'We will change our little habits together.'

And in a question that is about the little things we can do, the local things that we can do, I think that tells us that we've got a genuinely receptive population amongst our young people to the sorts of points that the Member was making.