Cwmbran animal sanctuary All Creatures Great and Small aiming to become community hub

The sanctuary is currently home to a rehoming centre for dogs, cats and small animals, as well as farm for larger animals that are not able to find a new home.

The farm is looking in to become a part of the Men’s Sheds project, which aims to help reduce loneliness and isolation in men by creating a shared space.

Estate and operations manager Tony Parker said that they were looking to set up a Men’s Shed “in the next few months.”

He said: “We have a couple of groups coming in for taster days this week. We will then be holding more taster days in May.”

The sanctuary is also looking in to offering Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) through the LIFE project (Learn In a Farming Environment).

The project provides opportunities for children, young people and vulnerable adults to grow emotionally and learn through interaction with a range of animals.

“We are trying to get more people involved and using the animals to benefit them,” said Mr Parker.

“We are looking to turn the sanctuary in to a community hub.

“They will be able to use the programme to learn how to react with animals and can use it to learn how to react to certain situations with people.

“By learning how to do things and act around animals, they can learn how to be more controlled around other people.

“We also aim to be working with groups of children with learning difficulties so we can help them develop their confidence by working with the animals.”

The sanctuary is also looking to get involved in the Growing Spaces project, which aims to tackle loneliness or social exclusion through working outside.

Mr Parker said: “We have a polytunnel at the site.

“People will be able to come to the site to work with the plants and with the animals.

“One of the things that I noticed when I first started was how little we used the facilities here.

“Now we are looking in to lots of little projects that we can get the community involved in.”