Australia's National Parks

Here's something that might interest anyone who's hanging around Snowdonia at the end of April.

John Senior will be speaking about Australia's National Parks at 7.30pm on Thursday 30th April at Y Stablau, Plas Tan y Bwlch, Maentwrog.

John is an independent consultant specialising in strategic advice to the Australian parks sector, and Project Manager for the Healthy Parks Healthy People guidelines for IUCN.

Admission: £3.00, including tea and biscuits.

Guided walk around the Plas Tan y Bwlch hydro scheme

Saturday’s walk to see the Plas Tan y Bwlch hydro electric scheme was a popular event with over thirty people taking part. It’s all very well hearing or reading about these schemes but there’s nothing quite like seeing it in action to understand the issues and how it all works.

We began at the top and worked our way down towards the turbine house with Andrew Oughton, who runs The Plas, leading the way. The top half of the scheme has a lot of pipework above ground because the ecologists argued against the felling of any trees. Good for the trees, but not so good for the view.  Maybe next time or in other schemes they might opt for burial of the pipe even if it does cost a couple of trees.  To minimise the visual impact the pipe is lagged with hessian and did I hear correctly, that the pipe has been smeared with yoghurt to encourage the growth of moss?

I won’t attempt to tell the story of the hydro because that has already been exceedingly well described by Twm Elias in the Autumn edition of Natur Cymru.

The 13th of June, 2013, was an important day in the history of Plas Tan y Bwlch, the Snowdonia National Park Centre, as the latest hydro-electric scheme at the Plas was officially opened. This is the third such scheme since the first small scheme was established in 1884, when the Plas was among the first houses in Wales to have its own private electricity supply....

The rest of the article can be read online here.

After visiting the turbine house we walked back up through the gardens with head gardener Chris Marshall leading the way, explaining the history of the gardens and the current emphasis on wildlife friendly gardening. Chris manages thirteen acres that were once looked after by a team of fourteen gardeners. One volunteer helps out and more are needed. If you fancy giving a hand, Chris will be very pleased to hear from you. There’s a lot to be done but the setting is so beautiful I’m sure it would be a labour of love.

Thank you Andrew and Chris for a great visit organised by the Snowdonia Society.

Siskin and Turbines before AGM

Chris Wallbank was presented with a cheque for £250 donated by WWF Cymru for coming first in the Natur Cymru wildlife art competition for his painting of a Siskin. As the bird is perched amongst blossom it is likely that this will be the front cover of the spring 2014 edition of the magazine.

Left to right: Mandy Marsh, Geoff Gibbs, Andrew Oughton,
Daniel Jenkins-Jones, Chris Wallbank, Shenaz, James Robertson,
Catherine Duigan, Andrew Tuddenham, Delcie Simkin & David Parker 

Andrew Oughton from Plas Tan y Bwlch presented the cheque on behalf of WWF Cymru. The occasion coincided with the Natur Cymru AGM and board meeting which was held in the library of The Plas.

Before the presentation we enjoyed a beautiful walk through the woodland up to Llyn Mair and then down the line of the 2013 hydro scheme which replaces the one first installed in 1884. The installation was full of challenge with the need to avoid ground nesting birds, roosting bats and ant hills. To avoid root damage to particular trees, such as the Tree of Heaven and some enormous Limes, it was necessary to hand dig in parts.

The original Gilkes turbine installed in 1884 cost £48 and generated 7Kw. The 2013 turbine, also from Gilkes in Lancashire, cost £47,000 and generates 30Kw. Total cost of the project was a little over £400K and the payback is expected to be within 10 years.  

Siskin comes 1st in wildlife art competition

The first Natur Cymru wildlife art competition has been won by Chris Wallbank from Llanidloes for his painting of a Siskin. Chris will receive a cheque for £250 kindly sponsored by WWF Cymru.

On being told the results Chris said ‘I am delighted to win the Natur Cymru wildlife art competition and to have my work featured on the magazine front cover. I chose the subject of my entry, the Siskin, because it is a species I associate with the Welsh landscape and one of the first I remember being in awe of discovering close to home. To make the painting, I first set up a feeder outside my window and started drawing whatever it attracted. However, it was the unexpected motif of Siskin gathering amongst the blossom flowers of a wild cherry that ultimately absorbed my attention and made the session truly special.’ Chris’s work can be seen at www.chriswallbank.com

Anne Meikle, Head of WWF Cymru, said ‘WWF Cymru is delighted to support this competition. The standard of the entries received has been very high which demonstrates the deep connection that many people in Wales have with nature. 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’.

Second prize has been awarded to Flintshire based artist Sharon Whitley for ‘Puffin’, which is on the front cover of the summer edition, with sand eels in its beak. ‘I love painting wildlife and birds in particular - Puffins are one of my favourite birds and I associate them with the Welsh coastline at this time of year having had the privilege to see them at South Stack’. Sharon’s prize is a £250 voucher towards the cost of a residential art course at Plas Tan y Bwlch - thank you Snowdonia National Park.


Third prize, a trip for two to Skomer donated by the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales, goes to Rich Edwards for his painting of a Jay’s Feather on Moss.

Fourth prize, a voucher for £100 of materials kindly provided by Ken Bromley Art Supplies, has been awarded to Emma Cownie for her painting of Rabbits.

We will use these and other entries in future editions of the magazine. Thank you to all the participants and sponsors of the prizes. Thank you also to the judges for making the choices – our judges included Alison from Oriel Alison Bradley and Mel Parry who is the designer of Natur Cymru. Last, but by no means least, Mandy Marsh the Natur Cymru Production Manager who has pulled together all 47 editions since its birth in 2001.

Iolo in the Vale of Ffestiniog

The third episode of Iolo’s Great Welsh Parks, recorded in and around Plas Tan y Bwlch, will be broadcast on Sunday 20^th January at 17:35 on BBC Wales. Tune in to see what he finds. The fourth and final episode, filmed at Stackpole, will be broadcast the following week. Details of the programme and viewing via iPlayer can be found here.

The series was produced by Cardiff based Aden Productions who also filmed the series Wild Wales.

Wildlife Art Competition

The Natur Cymru wildlife art competition is under way - entries needed by 30th April. Full details are on our website and can be found here.

Traditional notice boards are a good way of alerting people to the opportunity so if you have the time and opportunity there is an A4 poster which can be downloaded here or by clicking on the image.

Sponsors of the prizes are:

• WWF Cymru
• Snowdonia National Park
• Wildlife Trusts Wales
• Ken Bromley Art Supplies

Power of the Plas

It was one of the first houses in Wales to have electricity with a Gilkes turbine installed in 1905. This was used until 1928; presumably made redundant by the opening of the much larger Maentwrog hydro scheme which was big enough to power all of north Wales. Since then nuclear has been and (almost) gone from Trawsfynydd and in a few months The Plas will be back to having its own hydro power generated by yet another Gilkes turbine.

Construction is fraught with conservation complication. Work on the turbine end, alongside the main road, can only be done in the summer months so as not to disturb bats. Trench work at the top end has to wait until the ecologist confirms ground nesting birds have fledged. The section through the orchard to the road has to avoid anthills. And then there are trenches beneath highly prized trees, such as the huge limes and the ‘Tree of Heaven’, which have to be hand dug to preserve the roots.

The scheme will cost £420K and, at current electricity prices, is expected to have a ten year payback. Generating 100,000 Kw a year that’s enough for about fourteen normal households.

It's an elm!

20 to 25 million elms died of Dutch elm disease in the UK but don’t blame the Dutch, it was their scientist who identified it. Today it’s a rare sight to see an elm but you can find one on the drive down from Plas Tan y Bwlch towards The Oakeley Arms, on the right hand side, just after the turning to The Lodge.

The gardens are open to the public from 10am until 4pm and contain all sorts of trees. Oaks of course, giant limes, also the handkerchief tree and the tree of heaven. But for me the elm is the star – I wonder how it survived.

I understand there are quite a few elms across the valley in Ceunant Llenerch.