PARKS, COUNTRYSIDE & WATERWAYS
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FCW launches forest park audio trails
New MP3 guides to explore the history and wildlife of Coed-y-Brenin Forest Park
By Pete Hayman
More than 5 miles (8km) of new MP3 audio trails have been officially launched at Coed-y-Brenin Forest Park in North Wales by television wildlife presenter Iolo Williams. Pre-recorded guides are
available for download onto MP3 players or iPods by Forestry Commission Wales (FCW), which will enable the park's visitors to find out more about local wildlife. The audio trails are among
the first to be established in Welsh Assembly Government- managed woodlands and were initially devised by FCW ranger Graeme Stringer. Visitors will be invited to
switch on their MP3 players at a number of points along the route, which will provide
IN BRIEF
New lease of life for old lock gates
Twenty old canal lock gates,
Iolo Williams (centre) launched the trails with local school pupils
information about specific parts of the park and its landscape. Stringer said: "The MP3 trails
complement our information boards and leaflets and will bring Coed-y-Brenin's history and surroundings to life in a different way." Four trails are now available – Ty'n Y Groes; Tyddyn Gwladys,
examining the former gunpow- der works and gold mine; and Glasdir, which investigates the park's industrial heritage and former copper mines. The fourth – Afon Eden –
starts at Coed-y-Brenin's visitor centre and features forest wildlife and park history on a route down to the river.
New project set to restore Norfolk Broads island
By Pete Hayman
Dredging designed to clear a navigation channel through Heigham Sound on the Norfolk Broads will help to restore a
"lost" island, according to the Broads Authority. A new project being trialled
by the authority will see gabion baskets lined with geo-textile materials used to establish a perimeter for dredged material to be disposed into, which will create the island. The sediment will form a new
20m x 20m (66ft x 66ft) island, which will then be assessed to determine if it is viable, sustainable and suitable for the creation of animal habitats. If the trial proves successful,
the whole 1-hectare (2.5-acre) island will be restored, subject to the agreement of Natural
© Cybertrek 2010
including 12 from the Caen Hill flight near Devizes, Wiltshire, on the Kennet & Avon Canal, are to be recycled for a project at the Glastonbury music festival later this year. The gates, which weigh around two tonnes each, were removed and replaced as part of British Waterways' (BW) winter maintenance works programme. However, BW is now going to use them to build a special bridge at the Somerset site in memory of Bella Churchill, who was instrumental in developing the festival.
Funding boost for Scottish woodlands
More than £407,000 is to be
shared by 14 projects across Scotland to improve access and learning opportunities for people living near the country's urban woodlands. Forestry Commission Scotland has awarded the grants through the Woods In and Around Towns programme and Forest for People challenge funds to help landowners revitalise existing woodlands.
Peak District green schemes receive grants
Projects involving education,
The island will be restored using sediment from Heigham Sound
England, Norfolk Wildlife Trust and the Environment Agency. The whole island will help
separate Duck Broad from the navigation channel, while more than £10,000 has been invested to reduce the risk of a Prymnesium algae outbreak during the scheme. Rob Rogers, the Broads
Authority head of construction
and facilities, said: "The water sampling is showing very low levels of Prymnesium and favourable conditions for dredging. The sampling will continue for some weeks after the project to ensure good scientific data is gathered." The Broads Authority has
confirmed that the project will not obstruct boating activities.
energy and music are to benefit from the latest round of grants from the Peak District Sustainable Development Fund. The fund, managed by the Peak District National Park Authority and financed by DEFRA, supports local projects from community groups or businesses that improve the environmental, social and educational wellbeing of the national park and its residents. The Sustainable Development Fund allocates around £160,000 a year to help sustain community life and the environment, and promote awareness of the park's qualities.
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