PMLL Choir of the Year finalists, Spectrum Singers is to performg its first Christmas concert since 2019.

Entitled 'Evergreen', the programme symbolises the hope of new life in the dead of winter and will be hosted by Penarth Civic Society (PCS) at 7pm on Saturday, 17 December at Tabernacle Baptist Church, Plassey Street.

Decorating homes with fresh greenery is a deep-rooted festive tradition. Evergreens have played a part in winter celebrations since ancient times. Most surviving church records from the late Middle Ages include entries for the purchase of boughs of holly whilst native plants such as ivy and mistletoe are immortalised in traditional carol lyrics.

In line with the work of many of Penarth Civic Society's town projects, Spectrum Singers' concert will raise money for The Woodland Trust conservation charity, which is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland heritage. Trees have an important role to play in countering the effects of climate change, capturing CO2, reducing toxic air pollution and slowing the flow of rainwater, thereby cutting flood risks.

Recognising the ecological value of the town's tree canopy, PCS sub groups Penarth Tree Forum, Railway Path Project, Friends of Victoria Square, Friends of St Joseph's Park (FoSJP) are all working to protect, monitor, care for and increase the trees in Penarth's public parks and private gardens. Volunteers for FoSJP planted an orchard of 14 fruit trees adjacent to 'The ZigZag Path' in October.

Individual households across Wales can also now collect a free native tree from over 50 hubs facilitated by Coed Cadw, the Woodland Trust in Wales, as part of a Welsh Government giveaway to tackle the climate and nature emergencies, an initiative called My Tree Our Forest.

Deputy Climate Change Minister, Lee Waters said:  "Trees are a lifeline to us and all of the amazing life that they support. Where would our birds, insects and animals be without them… where would we be without them?"