Creative performances show importance of wildflowers

The event - which was on from 10.30am to 4pm - aimed to bring people together to transform local spaces with native, pollinator-friendly wild flowers and plants.

Supported by the Big Lottery Fund, Grow Wild is the national outreach initiative of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew - and a variety of events are hosted across the UK.

Earlier this year young people aged 12 to 25 from across Wales were invited to apply for funding to produce creative works of art and performances to raise awareness about the importance of UK native wild flowers and plants.

And applicants from across the country had the chance to show how they interpreted the brief in the Riverfront.

Acts included an interactive story called 'Growing Up' by Louby Lou Storytelling from Brynmawr, an interpretive dance and music session called 'Grow Together; by Pain in the Arts from Swansea and a live comic strip by Ben Hughes from Ceredigion.

As well as a variety of acts for all ages throughout the day, visitors could also enjoy some of the installations around the Riverfront. These included 'Sensory Roots' by Andrea Radisic from Newport - a sensory, interactive and participatory wild flower inspired exhibit which was linked to national charity Sense.

Maria Golightly, the Wales engagement manager for Grow Wild, said the day was about inspiring and helping people learn about wild flowers.

She said: "What we try to do is have different ways of getting new audiences interested in wild flowers. One of our big focuses is youth, so the 12 to 25 age group. We found this works particularly well to use different creative ways of learning about wild flowers rather than traditional talks or other things. We had a funding stream where youth groups could apply for £500 and they went away and did something artistic around nature and the growth of wildflowers.

"So much of our wildlife depends on wildflowers and not everyone knows about that. We want to change that public perception."