Chris Kinsey was presented with a £500 cheque
from WWF Cymru as the winner of the 2012 Inspired by Nature competition. Gillian Clarke, both judge and presenter,
said of The Hawk Moth Effect, the
winning entry: ‘.... it wasn’t pretty or
decorated, it was exciting, the prose ran, it had muscle, it had information,
it had a story ....’ You can hear Gillian’s words in her own voice in this
short film:
In second
place was John Harold with an article titled How I fell in love with the frog lady. His prize was a £500 voucher
for the residential nature writing course at Tŷ Newydd. The first two articles will
be published in the autumn edition of Natur Cymru.
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| Left to right: Liz, Chris, Gillian & Eloise |
The other prize winners were Eloise Williams who won
an overnight trip for two to Skomer Island (sponsored by The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales) with an
article titled I carry your heart with me.
In fourth place was Liz Fleming-Williams who won a dolphin survey boat trip
for two (sponsored by Dolphin Survey Boat Trips) for her article Snow on a Raven’s Wing. In fifth place was
Rob Collister who won a meal for two at the Glasshouse Café in the Wildlife
Centre at Cilgerran (sponsored by The Wildlife
Trust of South and West Wales) for his article In my backyard.
Ann Meikle, head of WWF Cymru, was unable to attend but sent this message of support: ‘one
of WWF's objectives is to inspire people to care for nature. At the same
time, as more and more people around the world live in cities, it is important
to use all media, particularly arts and literature to bring the joy and wonder
of nature to people who may not experience it themselves. It is in that context
that we are always pleased to sponsor this prize’.
David Parker, Chief Scientist for the Countryside Council for Wales and Chairman of Natur Cymru, said: ‘Natur Cymru is an independent magazine of record about the wildlife and nature of Wales linked to the way we manage the countryside and to people, both local communities and the many visitors to Wales. A distinctive feature is the use of original art for the front covers. I would like to thank all the sponsors of the competition. I would also like to thank The National Trust, Literature Wales and Coracle for making us so welcome at Dinefwr Park and the first Literature Festival for Wales.’
David Parker, Chief Scientist for the Countryside Council for Wales and Chairman of Natur Cymru, said: ‘Natur Cymru is an independent magazine of record about the wildlife and nature of Wales linked to the way we manage the countryside and to people, both local communities and the many visitors to Wales. A distinctive feature is the use of original art for the front covers. I would like to thank all the sponsors of the competition. I would also like to thank The National Trust, Literature Wales and Coracle for making us so welcome at Dinefwr Park and the first Literature Festival for Wales.’
A final
thank you and welcome to all the people who became subscribers to Natur Cymru
at the event. I hope you enjoy your quarterly read about what makes the nature
of Wales so special. Final, final thank you to the BBC for laying on such environmentally friendly travel ...
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| Taking time out to travel to Dinefwr |
Huw, I'd like to thank-you for all the energy you put into Natur Cymru including administering and getting sponsorship for the 'Inspired by Nature' competition. I'm delighted to win and very appreciative of WWF's cheque. I had a great day out at Dinefwr - naturally I took both of the nature walks. On the morning one, led by Horatio Clare, we made a pact with William Hazlitt's quotation "not to talk of trival things" as we walked down past the locked deer park and into a recovering meadow high with crested dog's tail, yorkshire fog, seeding yellow rattle and many other plants. Swallows swooped and shaved us. A charm of goldfinches flew and foraged.We paid our respects to an ancient hollow oak and Ray Woods introduced us to the mix of lichens mosses and ferns it supported in different niches. Down on the flood plain it felt as though Horatio had summoned the West Wind by reading Shelley's Ode. A soggy buzzard tilted out of it and turned back into the woods covering the castle crag. The wind blew the clouds away for a while and about ten ravens came tumbling out to play.
ReplyDeleteThe afternoon walk up to the castle with Ray Woods and Lizzie Wilberforce was a fascinating introduction to lichens and the astonishing inter-relationship between plants and fungi which left me inspired and hungry to know more about a whole new dimension to Nature.