We were commissioned by The Green Valleys in Wales to provide expert advice and support to Project Skyline, a feasibility study established to explore the possibility of communities in the South Wales Valleys managing the landscape that surrounds their town or village.

The project asked what would happen if we handed to local people the means to shape their own environment? Not the current piecemeal approach, a small patch of woodland for a few years, but hundreds of hectares for hundreds of years – to the “skyline”.

What might a community choose to do with the land if it could plan not for the three years of a Lottery grant but for three generations? Create jobs from forestry? Support small-holdings or food projects? Improve public access? Support wildlife?

The project took an arts led approach to work creatively with three communities across the Valleys to explore their ideas, visions and dreams for their communities. 

Shared Assets provided expert input on governance and business models that could support long term community management of the landscape. 

The short film below captures the essence of the project. 

The learning from the project is being used to develop pilot approaches to enabling local communities in the Valleys to take greater control over their landscape.