Latest news with #NationalTrustCymru
South Wales Argus
2 days ago
- General
- South Wales Argus
Tredegar House to be transformed into bumblebee sanctuary
Tredegar House in Newport is part of a new project by National Trust Cymru and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust to protect declining bumblebee species, including the rare shrill carder bee (Bombus sylvarum). The estate, located on the Gwent Levels, is one of just five areas in Wales and England where the shrill carder bee still survives. Chris Flynn, head gardener at Tredegar House, said: "We are pleased to be working alongside the Bumblebee Conservation Trust on this important conservation project. "Bumblebees urgently need our help, and we want to ensure species such as the shrill carder can continue to thrive here at Tredegar House." Orchard Garden in Tredegar House, on the Gwent Levels, one of five areas in England and Wales where the rare shrill carder bee still survives (Image: James Beck) The work is part of the Natur am Byth programme, Wales' largest-ever species recovery initiative, funded by the Welsh Government and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Planned habitat improvements will take place across 90 acres of gardens and parkland at Tredegar House, focusing on the creation of flower-rich meadows to support the shrill carder and other pollinators. Mr Flynn said: "Our aim is to enhance the diversity of plants in the garden, thoughtfully extending flowering periods throughout the year to provide crucial nectar sources from early spring through to late autumn. "We are carefully introducing nectar-rich grassland plants such as cowslip, crocus, snake's head fritillary, red clover, ivy, and bird's-foot trefoil. "We hope these subtle, yet significant changes continue to support and attract bumblebees and other pollinators, while also enriching the beauty and biodiversity of our gardens for everyone to enjoy." Other bumblebee species expected to benefit include the brown-banded carder bee and the more common garden bumblebee. To monitor the impact of the project, National Trust staff and volunteers have joined the Bumblebee Conservation Trust's BeeWalk scheme, a citizen science programme that collects monthly bumblebee sightings from March to October. Tom Bucher-Flynn, shrill carder bee project officer for the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, said: "We're delighted to announce that National Trust Cymru and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust are teaming up at Tredegar House."
Wales Online
6 days ago
- General
- Wales Online
Sheep's wool used to make 'floating Roman footpaths' up Wales' highest mountain
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A path-building technique borrowed from the Romans has been used to rebuild a route on Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon). It's underpinned by hundreds of sheep fleeces which act as a base on which the path 'floats'. As the method is particularly good for crossing boggy areas, it was selected for the footpath in Cwm Llan on the south-eastern flanks of Yr Wyddfa. Nearby runs the popular but demanding Watkin Path to the mountain's summit. A 60-metre section of footpath was constructed, half of which used fleeces. The fleeces were taken from Welsh Mountain sheep grazed by the National Trust's Hafod Y Llan farm nearby, and flown to the site by helicopter. 'There were about 200-300 fleeces used, given to us for free from the farm,' said Ifan Parry, National Trust Cymru area ranger in Eryri (Snowdonia). 'Sadly, the price of wool is extremely low in the UK and it costs more to shear the sheep than you get from selling the wool.' From Bronze Age times, people have used a variety of natural methods for crossing wet ground including bundles of willow and hazel, woven hessian and flat stones. Traces of these techniques can still be found in submerged sections off the Welsh coast. Wool provides a good medium as it is durable and has good compressional strength. 'This sheep wool fleece technique in paths was used by the Romans,' said Ifan. 'Now, we tend to use this technique in wet boggy ground through peatland. 'The wool acts like a membrane to separate the path stone from the peat so it doesn't sink. It's a more eco-friendly alternative to using plastic membranes." Sign up now for the latest news on the North Wales Live Whatsapp community (Image: BMC) Ifan added: 'Once the wool is in and sealed, the peat is an anoxic environment so it won't rot – it will stay intact, acting like a barrier between the path and the peat. 'We try not to disrupt the peatland, so the wool allows water to flow through it underneath the path, preventing the surrounding peatland from drying out.' Fleeces were also used by Menter Môn to create bog-proof paths on Anglesey at Aberlleiniog Castle, near Penmon, and Rhos Llaniestyn, near Llanddona. It was part of the enterprise body's 'Made with Wool' project, which aims to find alternative uses for the versatile but under-valued fibre. In Cwm Llan, the 'walking on wool' path was laid over two days by British Mountaineering Council (BMC) volunteers and the National Trust's footpath team in Eryri. The work was for the BMC's latest 'Get Stuck In' event, part of the Mend Our Mountains campaign. Over the past two years, the initiative has seen volunteers clock up almost 500 man-hours of work in Eryri. Between them, they repaired more than 520 metres of footpath, laid 187 stepping stones and cleared five helicopter bags full of plastic tree guards. BMC hill walking rep Steve Charles said 30 metres of the "sheep" path were built just using stone – the other 30 metres used fleeces. 'Fleeces are used to build paths through boggy areas where stones would just sink into the mud,' he added. (Image: BMC) A trench was dug through peat about 1-2ft deep and the fleeces laid on at the bottom at least two bales deep. Larger stones were then used to weigh down the fleeces with aggregate added on top for the walking surface. Using wool does have drawbacks, said Ifan. 'Work-wise, fleece is easier in a way than stone-pitching or stepping stones because it's a lighter material and a less technical method that takes less time, skill and experience,' he said. 'But in other ways, it's harder than building a path with stone. Without a digger or a large group of people, it's quite a time-consuming task because of the sheer amount of material that needs to be dug out and then filled back in. 'The BMC Get Stuck In volunteers really helped us with this project and we did a lot more work than we thought we would do. Top job!' Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox With 10.5m visitor nights spent in Eryri in 2023-24, and more than 600,000 people climbing Yr Wyddfa every year, the national park's 1,497 miles of footpaths are seeing more footfall than ever before. It's left the BMC warning of a 'nightmarish downward spiral of footpath degradation', compounded by more extreme weather as the climate changes. One idea for combating these pressures is to appoint an apprentice ranger at the National Trust's Eryri footpath team. Fundraising for the two-year role is being led by the BMC's Access & Conservation Trust. So far £14,000 has been raised and another £53,000 is needed – there's more detail here. Find the weather forecast where you live
North Wales Live
6 days ago
- Lifestyle
- North Wales Live
Sheep's wool used to make 'floating Roman footpaths' up Wales' highest mountain
A path-building technique borrowed from the Romans has been used to rebuild a route on Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon). It's underpinned by hundreds of sheep fleeces which act as a base on which the path 'floats'. As the method is particularly good for crossing boggy areas, it was selected for the footpath in Cwm Llan on the south-eastern flanks of Yr Wyddfa. Nearby runs the popular but demanding Watkin Path to the mountain's summit. A 60-metre section of footpath was constructed, half of which used fleeces. The fleeces were taken from Welsh Mountain sheep grazed by the National Trust's Hafod Y Llan farm nearby, and flown to the site by helicopter. 'There were about 200-300 fleeces used, given to us for free from the farm,' said Ifan Parry, National Trust Cymru area ranger in Eryri (Snowdonia). 'Sadly, the price of wool is extremely low in the UK and it costs more to shear the sheep than you get from selling the wool.' From Bronze Age times, people have used a variety of natural methods for crossing wet ground including bundles of willow and hazel, woven hessian and flat stones. Traces of these techniques can still be found in submerged sections off the Welsh coast. Wool provides a good medium as it is durable and has good compressional strength. 'This sheep wool fleece technique in paths was used by the Romans,' said Ifan. 'Now, we tend to use this technique in wet boggy ground through peatland. 'The wool acts like a membrane to separate the path stone from the peat so it doesn't sink. It's a more eco-friendly alternative to using plastic membranes." Ifan added: 'Once the wool is in and sealed, the peat is an anoxic environment so it won't rot – it will stay intact, acting like a barrier between the path and the peat. 'We try not to disrupt the peatland, so the wool allows water to flow through it underneath the path, preventing the surrounding peatland from drying out.' Fleeces were also used by Menter Môn to create bog-proof paths on Anglesey at Aberlleiniog Castle, near Penmon, and Rhos Llaniestyn, near Llanddona. It was part of the enterprise body's 'Made with Wool' project, which aims to find alternative uses for the versatile but under-valued fibre. In Cwm Llan, the 'walking on wool' path was laid over two days by British Mountaineering Council (BMC) volunteers and the National Trust's footpath team in Eryri. The work was for the BMC's latest 'Get Stuck In' event, part of the Mend Our Mountains campaign. Over the past two years, the initiative has seen volunteers clock up almost 500 man-hours of work in Eryri. Between them, they repaired more than 520 metres of footpath, laid 187 stepping stones and cleared five helicopter bags full of plastic tree guards. BMC hill walking rep Steve Charles said 30 metres of the "sheep" path were built just using stone – the other 30 metres used fleeces. 'Fleeces are used to build paths through boggy areas where stones would just sink into the mud,' he added. A trench was dug through peat about 1-2ft deep and the fleeces laid on at the bottom at least two bales deep. Larger stones were then used to weigh down the fleeces with aggregate added on top for the walking surface. Using wool does have drawbacks, said Ifan. 'Work-wise, fleece is easier in a way than stone-pitching or stepping stones because it's a lighter material and a less technical method that takes less time, skill and experience,' he said. 'But in other ways, it's harder than building a path with stone. Without a digger or a large group of people, it's quite a time-consuming task because of the sheer amount of material that needs to be dug out and then filled back in. 'The BMC Get Stuck In volunteers really helped us with this project and we did a lot more work than we thought we would do. Top job!' Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox With 10.5m visitor nights spent in Eryri in 2023-24, and more than 600,000 people climbing Yr Wyddfa every year, the national park's 1,497 miles of footpaths are seeing more footfall than ever before. It's left the BMC warning of a 'nightmarish downward spiral of footpath degradation', compounded by more extreme weather as the climate changes. One idea for combating these pressures is to appoint an apprentice ranger at the National Trust's Eryri footpath team. Fundraising for the two-year role is being led by the BMC's Access & Conservation Trust. So far £14,000 has been raised and another £53,000 is needed – there's more detail here.
South Wales Argus
24-05-2025
- Science
- South Wales Argus
Night Sky: What's in the sky this week and Helios display
Helios is the brainchild of artist Luke Jerram with his intriguing seven-metre representation of the Sun being placed on display on the South Lawn at Dyffryn Gardens from Friday, May 23 to Monday, May 26 and again from Thursday, May 29 to Sunday, June 1. Helios, from the ancient Greek God who personifies the Sun, is on a nationwide tour and this is the Sun's only stop in Wales before moving on. Jerram has afforded incredible attention to detail so that each centimetre of the sphere represents 2,000 kilometres of the Sun's surface which all told has been cleverly combined with a NASA-inspired soundscape. Lizzie Smith Jones, general manager for National Trust Cymru, said: 'We're beyond thrilled to welcome Helios to Dyffryn Gardens.' The planet Jupiter finally slips into the evening twilight during the last week of May, meaning that it will be lost in the Sun's glare during June. However, on the evening of Wednesday, May 28, there is a lovely pairing with Jupiter positioned directly below a thin crescent Moon. Whilst we will lose Jupiter, we still have the red planet Mars in the evening sky for a good while yet. On Friday, May 29, the Moon features again in the western sky after sunset but this time accompanied with the two brightest stars in the constellation of Gemini, the Twins. Forming a nice triangular shape, look for the Moon, then sweep upward to find Pollux to the left and Castor to the right. Venus continues to dominate the sky before dawn, easily recognisable as the 'morning star' above the eastern horizon, with Saturn rising ahead of Venus and remaining to its right, although it will appear noticeably fainter. Spaceflight news and the next private astronaut mission has been pushed back from its planned launch on May 29. With no celebrities in sight on this occasion, the crew of Axiom Space's Ax-4 will head to the International Space Station. Amongst the quartet will be Peggy Whitson, who has spent more time in space than any other American or woman, a staggering 675 days. Ironically, another private space company, SpaceX, will provide the Falcon 9 rocket that will power the four to the ISS, where they will conduct scientific experiments. With Wales' own Spaceport at Llanbedr Airfield in Snowdonia seemingly on hold, further proof that you don't need a base on land to launch space-bound rockets as Galactic Energy, a privately owned Chinese company, successfully dispatched its Ceres-1 rocket with four satellites onboard from a ship at sea. The International Space Station makes several appearances during the coming days, although the window for sighting the second of these is rather short. On Saturday, May 24, the ISS rises in the west at 10.04pm, setting in the southeast five minutes later. On Monday, May 26, the ISS rises in the southwest at 10.07pm, setting in the southwest one minute later. Send your astrophotography pictures to: thenightsky@
Leader Live
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
Chirk Castle celebrates curlew bird this May half term
The National Trust Cymru site is inviting families to join in a week of activities centred around the curlew, which will run from May 24 to June 1. The activities, which include curlew-inspired games, bird mask making, storytelling, and puppet displays, are part of an initiative to prepare the 480-acre estate as a future nesting site for the curlew. This is part of a wider conservation effort across Wales, in partnership with the Clwydian Range & Dee Valley National Landscape, Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, and the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust. The project, funded by the Welsh Government through the Heritage Lottery Fund, aims to monitor curlews, support farmers, and engage local communities in conservation efforts. The curlew, a ground-nesting bird, is currently in crisis across Wales and is red-listed on both the Welsh and UK Birds of Conservation Concern (BoCC). The decline in their population is due to predation of nests and chicks, loss of suitable feeding and breeding habitats, and reduced food availability. Earlier this year, a curlew parade was held at the castle in partnership with Curlew Connections Wales and the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The curlew parade passes through the Chirk Castle estate (Image: National Trust Images Paul Harris) Pupils from Ysgol Caer Drewyn in Corwen, Ysgol Bro Dyfrdwy in Corwen, and Ysgol y Waun in Chirk took part in creative workshops alongside puppet makers Ben and Jude Wood, storyteller Fiona Collins, and musician Morgan Elwy. At the heart of the parade was Pegi Pyg Hir, a four-foot-wide curlew puppet symbolising the bird's journey in search of a safe nesting site. Keith Griffith, Chirk Castle's area ranger, said: "Chirk Castle has a rich history of supporting wildlife, and we aim to restore the habitats curlews need to thrive. "Curlews are red-listed and at real risk of extinction as a breeding bird in Wales and seeing local children so engaged in this conservation effort gives us hope for the future survival of these special birds." During the May half term, visitors can view the puppets on display near the ticket office at Home Farm, where they will also find an art installation by Sean Harris that brings the curlew to life. The garden at the top of the hill will host an array of daily fun activities on the upper lawn designed to teach visitors more about these fascinating wading birds. On May 26 and 27, families can join Jake the Storyteller for magical tales of birds great and small. Sessions take place at 11am, 12pm, 1pm, and 2pm and last around 30 minutes each. On May 28, visitors can design and make their own bird mask under the marquee in the garden using card and tissue paper. READ MORE: Attendance in Wales' secondary schools 'significantly below' pre-pandemic levels Anne Kurdock, experience and visitor programming manager for Chirk Castle and Erddig, said: "We look forward to welcoming visitors to Chirk Castle this May half term to learn more about this incredible bird and its significance to Welsh landscapes. "We've a whole week of activities for families to enjoy inspired by the curlew and can't wait for everyone to experience it and see the wonderful artwork on display produced by our partners and local schools." Activities are free, although usual admission charges apply, and National Trust members and children under five can enter without charge. For further details, visit the Chirk Castle and Garden website.
