Wales Farmer June 2013 COUNTRYSIDE


Repair work begins after harsh winter


WITH skies clearing and the ground drying, repair- ing the landscape damage inflicted by aharsh winter has begun across rural


Pembrokeshire. PembrokeshireCoast National


Park Authority staffhavebeen out repairing paths and clearing up debris,some of which has been left by people playing in this winter’ssnowfall. Health and tourism policy offi-


cer Hannah Buck said: “Our staff recentlyhauled out askip-full of items used forsledging left behind on farmers’ fields in the Preseli Hills,including parts of surfboards,car bodyparts and broken parts of plastic sledges. “Wedowant people to get out


and enjoythe national park, but at the same time,infarming areas activities such as sledging can


DEBRIS REMOVAL: Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority ranger Richard Vaughan with some of the sledging litter that staff recently cleared from fields in the Preseli Hills, including pieces of car bodies and asurfboard.


ANIMAL RISK: Broken pieces of plastic sledges left in fields are chewed by animals.


cause harmtoanimals,damage fencing and cause access prob- lems forlocal people.


“It’sclear thatsheep and hors-


es have been chewing on the often sharp-edged bits of plastic found


among some of the litter,which can cause serious damage or death to an animal if ingested.” The Countryside Code empha-


sises thatlitter and leftoverfood can be dangerous to wildlife and


farmanimals and spread disease. It also highlights the carepeo-


ple should takenot to damage fencing, gates and walls and being mindful when parking, as blocking access to fields can


obstruct farmers feeding and looking after livestock, as well as local residents. Formoreinformation on the Countryside Code,goto www.pembrokeshirecoast.org.uk.


Specialbirthday party for planting project


HUNDREDS of children across Wales have taken part in celebra- tions to markthe fifth anniver- sary of aproject to plant atree forevery child born or adopted in Wales. As part of aweek of events to


markthe milestone of the Plant! project, the beginnings of anew woodland wasplanted at Coed Maclaren


and Syfiin


Abertysswg, Rhymney –the sev- enth site created since the scheme waslaunched. Plant! is an innovative Welsh Government project which is


managed by Natural Resources Wales in partnership with the Woodland Trust (Coed Cadw). It promotes athriving, healthier environment and helps to tackle climate change by creating a Welsh National Forest of native trees to act as acarbon sink. Since the initiative was launched in December 2007, almost 200,000 trees have been planted to markthe birth or adoption of every child born in Wales from January 1st, 2008, with every child receiving acer- tificate to tell them in which


woodland their tree is located. Carol Travers of Natural


Resources Wales said: "Our aim is to give each child apersonal link with their environment, while creating morelocal wood- land and green space forfuture generations to enjoy. "Giving children and young


people asense of ownership of the natural environment encour- ages them and their families to enjoythe outdoors.This can help create long-termbenefits for them and the communities in which they live."


Find out what’s on in park


TO FIND out what’s going on in Pembrokeshirethis summer,people need do no morethan browse,down- load or pick up acopyofCoast to Coast. The


PembrokeshireCoast


National Park Authority’sannual visitor newspaper is out now, full of information and ideas on making the most of the national parkthis spring and summer,with plenty of inspira- tional on things to see and do. It also includes details of the authority’spopular activities and events programme,which offers a unique opportunity to discoverthe heritage,wildlife,countryside and coastline of the national park. The free paper is availableat


tourist information centres,shops, pubs and other outlets,and is also availableonline,along with details on howtodownload the Coast to Coast app. Visit


www.pembrokeshire coast.org.uk to find out more. Families arealso being encour-


aged to experience the activities on offer in the national parkwith the authority’snew Out Therebooklet. The bilingual publication has


been giventoevery primary school pupil in the county,detailing the opportunities availablefor all ages across the park. National Park discovery ranger


Gayle Lister said: “The booklet is encouraging local children and their families to takepart in our fantastic activities and events,as well as learning abit moreabout our brilliant national park.” The events range from rock-


pooling to learning about bats,as well as traditional national park past-times such as circular walks or investigating the area’srich his- tory. By joining in on three events,chil-


dren will be able to collect stamps on the booklet’sactivity passport and claim aprizefromone of the


Phoenix Fencing &Decking


StockFencing • Post&Rail • Gates


In addition to the launch in Abertysswg, events took place at each of the other sites around Wales at Cefn Ila, near Usk, Coed Bryn Oer,Bryn Bach Country Park,Tredegar,Coed Ysgubor Wen, near Tywyn, Coed yFelin, Amlwch, Angelsey, Coedwig yPlant, Cwm Garw,


near Bridgend and Caia Park Community


Woodland,


Wrexham. Up to 500 children and fami-


lies were invited to join in the party,which included games, teddy bears’ picnics and other woodland activities –and drinks and abirthdaycakefor everyone.


The Plant! project wascon-


ceivedafter Cardiffschoolgirl Natalie Vaughan wrote to her Assembly Member,Sue Essex, suggesting thatplanting atreefor every child born would be agood waytomakeyoung people think about their environment and the role they have in preserving it.


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National Park Centres at Tenby, Newport and Oriel yParcaswell as Carew Castle and Castell Henllys Iron Age Fort.


Spotlight on ash tree disease


TWOseminars have helped wood- land owners and managers tackle a disease thatisthreatening Britain’s ash trees. Experts gave updates on the extent


of the Chalaradisease and steps that arebeing taken to try to slowits spread. John Browne,ofNatural


Resources Wales,said: “Chalaraisa serious disease of our native ash trees and these seminars aimed to provide woodland owners and managers with the information they need to deal with the disease. “Wevisited asite wheresteps have


been taken to clear the site of infect- ed ash and consider the possibility of


residual presence of the disease and its effects on the wider environment, along with alternative species to plant beyond ash.” Both seminars featured aseries of


presentations,including an insight to the disease’scharacteristics and spread by Forest research pathologist Joan Webber.


Phoenix Fencing and Decking operate throughout the whole ofWestWales, including Pembrokeshire,


Carmarthenshireand Ceredigion. www.phoenixfencinganddecking.co.uk 07811 430530 For the latest Wales farming news: walesfarmer.co.uk


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