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.

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

The Hawk Moth Cometh

In my garden this weekend I found this beautiful, four eyed, green caterpillar and I think it’s an elephant hawk moth. Which reminds me that there’s a great article on its way.  

This year’s winning entry of the Natur Cymru Inspired by Nature writing competition is titled The Hawk Moth Effect, by Chris Kinsey from Newtown. At the Wales Literature Festival she was presented with a cheque for £500, sponsored by WWF Cymru, and the article will be published in the autumn edition of Natur Cymru, due out mid September.

And that’s not all .... Chris will read out her article before the William Condry Lecture at The Tabernacle, Machynlleth, on Thursday evening (7pm) 4^th October. Full details of the event are about to be published at www.thecondrylecture.co.uk

Inspired by Nature prize giving at Dinefwr

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.

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.’

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 ...

Taking time out to travel to Dinefwr

Earth Hour 2012 - 31st March 8:30 pm

I know how much effort I have to put into my wind-up torch for a few minutes of dim lighting. I know that sawing, splitting, stacking and keeping a large basket of logs dry for a year will generate enough heat to cook the family supper. It also heats a large cylinder of piping hot water, enough for a family of four to have showers, that’s if we get our teenager to go last!

It’s good to have these reminders that explain the effort involved in generating power for heating, lighting and transport. So much is taken for granted at the flick of a switch. Which is why Earth Hour is such a good thing, a reminder all round the world when hundreds of millions of people from 135 countries put out the lights for an hour. This year it’s Saturday 31^st March at 8:30 pm.

What will I do? If I was at home we could sit round a log fire with a wind-up radio and a glass of last year’s bilberry wine.  But I’m not: I’m out giving a Natur Cymru illustrated talk to a local National Trust Association.  Maybe if I time my slides and talk to finish bang on 8:30 I could extinguish the projector and light a candle. But then again my symbolic message would be lost on a sleeping audience! 

If you are a community doing something unusual for Earth Hour, why not enter the WWF community competition with a chance to earn either £1,000 or £300. If not, just turn down the power and enjoy mother earth au naturel. Maybe read a back edition of Natur Cymru by candlelight.

Hay 2011

It was great to mix with the good and the great at this year’s Hay Festival. What a wonderful setting for the Inspired by Nature prize-giving ceremony.

Thanks to RSPB Cymru for inviting us into their tent and to WWF Cymru and Tŷ Newydd for sponsoring the competition prizes. To all the competitors, the winners, the judges and Gillian Clarke for presenting the prizes.

Thanks also to BBC Radio Wales for featuring us on the Jamie and Louise programme and the Roy Noble Show. Roy called in to see us .... I think he’d heard about the cake which was the star of the show!