Civic and Community
The Wildlife Trusts
September 24th 2002 was an active day for two of the Wildlife
Trusts of Powys - the Radnorshire and the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trusts. The
Montgomeryshire
Wildlife Trust was opening a new nature reserve
on that day and some diarists were attending this, although there was some consternation
about the punctuality of the VIP in attendance.
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Burfa Bog Nature
Reserve near Evenjobb
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Burfa Bog Nature
Reserve near Evenjobb
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Then a friend called by on his way to the launch of the Local
Biodiversity Action plan at Maesmawr Hall Hotel near Caersws and then to the
opening of Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust's new reserve at Gravels near
Llandinam.
- 1pm Proceeded to Llandinam to attend official
opening (3pm) Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust's new nature reserve 'Llandinam
Gravels'. Opening preceded by guided tour (1.30pm). Informative leaflet
given out detailing history of River Severn and its possible future. A brilliant
afternoon. Take several photographs. Sue Essex - Environment Minister from
Assembly in Cardiff is almost an hour late. Among 80-100 people attending,
a minibus full of children who planted 500+ whips of black poplar at west
end of the 90 acre reserve; are taken home before she arrives!
- Then home for a quick sandwich lunch in order
to get to the recently acquired Llandinam Gravels Nature reserve at 1.30pm.
This reserve is now owned by the Montgomeryshire Wildlife trust, of which
my husband and I are members. Following a guided tour around part of the new
reserve we returned to the car park for the official opening at 3pm by Mrs
Sue Essex, the Minister for the Environment for the Welsh Assembly. She was
45 minutes late!
- Early lunch 11.45 then by car with wife to
Llandinam for conducted walk around the newly purchased Montgomeryshire Wildlife
Trust Nature reserve. This was followed by official opening ceremony by Sue
Essex - Assembly member and Environment minister who was about ¾ hour
late.
Another diarist was involved with voluntary work for the Radnorshire
Wildlife Trust.
- 9.30- 10am Drove to Burfa Bog (Radnorshire
Wildlife trust Nature reserve).
10am - 4pm Voluntary work on reserve (as every Tuesday in different places).
This week's task - to construct a boardwalk across a boggy area on either
side of a bridge over a small stream. My part in the work: bolting timbers
together at each end of bridge, nailing board across main timbers to form
surface of boardwalk, stapling wire netting to surface to make it less slippery,
attaching hand rails at sides.
While another is a visitor:
- A magical afternoon awaits me at Gilfach,
an ancient farm by the Marteg river, now restored and protected by the local
wildlife trust. Bejewelled rowans glow against a craggy backdrop of gorse
and fading heather. Along the dismantled railway line a ghostly steam train
tracks me, clanking carriages carry coal to the fleet at Scapa Flow.
Click here
for a day in the life of the chairman of the Radnorshire Wildlife Trust.