County Times submission

Something interesting has been stirring all year up at Penygarnedd, the tiny community at the head of the Tanat Valley above Llanrhaeadr ym Mochnant. A small group of residents have come together to acquire 40 acres of the upland pasture with the intention of restoring the biodiversity and enhancing the tree cover, creating a resource and asset for the wider community at the same time. Economic pressures on farming to produce at all cost has transformed the Welsh landscape in recent decades, pushing at the edges and margins, draining wetlands, improving pasture and allowing hedges to lapse and decline. This has had a decimating effect on the birds and plants and other wildlife inhabiting these last areas of refuge. Add to this an increasingly erratic climate and these factors are combining together to bring further stresses on the wildlife and biodiversity so essential to maintaining the landscape. The need to explore ways to return some of the lost diversity to these precious uplands has become a priority and this was certainly one of the motivations which gave birth to this initiative.

Dolydd-Gobaith, or Meadows of Hope is a statement of intent and also one of optimism for how we can come together as communities to face the challenges of the day. Re-wilding some of the uplands uplands also helps build soil, and increase the uptake and absorption of rainwater, helping to create a buffer between drought and deluge. At Dolydd-Golbaith there is a policy of enlarging wetland areas and adding ponds to increase the ability of the landscape to absorb and hold water, whilst adding valuable wetland habitat, so important to maintaining bio-diversity.

The project has won support from the National Heritage Lottery, valuing and re-enforcing this vision and this creates plenty of opportunity for wider involvement, as the grant lays the foundation for wider involvement. This is an invitation to all, both and local and further away to come and visit, to explore and to take part in the many open days and volunteers days. A new Community Interest Company has been created to manage the community woodland for the long term benefit of all and these are really the first small steps for the project with many future opportunities for involvement. There is a website and a Facebook page for the group and posters often spread around Llanrhaeadr, Llanfyllin area advertising events. We have been busy hedging and tree planting over this first winter for the project, but there will many more opportunities and take part in and help shape the venture.

The group are developing three trails around the site, a short medium and longer one, which take in the main features and make visiting and exploring easy for everyone. There is plenty more planned as well, building a roundhouse as a bird hide and picnic stop, compost toilet, interpretation boards and improved access and parking. There are also regular events on themes of wildlife identification, as well as work to extend and enhance the natural features already present. It may only be a small area but it embodies hopes, ideas and am actively exploration of what we can achieve to help regenerate our landscapes and make them more resilient to the challenges and shocks of climate change whilst bringing us closer together as a community.