An innovative programme of walks which will combine education about biodiversity

with a leisurely enjoyment of wildlife has won Penparcau Wildlife Group a prestigious Ti Bia’r Biosffer award and cash prize of £1,000.

 

Ti Bia’r Biosffer is a challenge competition launched last autumn by leading Wales-based economic development agency Menter a Busnes. It was set up as part of the Biosffer Dyfi Biosphere initiative project to encourage groups, organisations and businesses to submit projects that will celebrate and showcase the principles of the Biosphere.

 

The Biosffer Dyfi Biosphere project, supported on a cooperative basis by the Cynnal y Cardi (Ceredigion), Arwain Powys and Arloesi Gwynedd Local Action Groups, is funded through the Welsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Union.

 

Congratulating Penparcau Wildlife Group on their award, Sian Tandy of Menter a Busnes said,

 

“In simple terms this project is all about encouraging residents and visitors of all ages to engage with nature in a way that celebrates local biodiversity and makes a positive contribution to protecting the natural environment.

 

“Penparcau Wildlife Group, which is hosted by the Penparcau Community Forum, includes volunteers representing a diverse range of backgrounds and with different skills, are very worthy winners.

 

“The programme they plan has something to appeal to every age group, from very young children who are naturally inquisitive about the outdoors, to people who may be retired or have mobility issues, but are still keen to get outside and enjoy the wonderful range of natural resources, heritage and wildlife that we are fortunate to have all around us throughout Wales and in particular, within the Dyfi Biosphere area.”

 

The group’s 2022 programme, which is already underway, includes a number of wheelchair-friendly walks, bird-watching trips and ‘mermaid’s purse’ hunts. Mermaid’s purses are tough, leathery pouches, usually found on the shoreline, which protect shark or skate embryos.

 

Project Lead, Chloe Griffiths, who accepted the £1,000 award on behalf of the members, emphasised that events will adapt to the seasons and include topics ranging from bird and wildlife walks, inland and coastal surveys to monthly wildflower searches and reptile hunts.

 

“Our grand idea is to actively encourage people to not only join in our activities, which will all be free,  but to also keep their own records of wildlife from their own gardens and neighbourhoods within the Dyfi Biosphere area.

 

“We are delighted to accept this award, and the £1,000 will help us ensure that a new generation of nature-lovers will have the skills to recognise, record and protect the wildlife and environmental wonders which surround them.”

 

To find out more about activities planned for 2022, follow Penparcau Wildlife Group on Facebook.

 

 

 

Note to editors:

Ti Bia’r Biosffer is being delivered by Menter a Busnes and is funded on a cooperative basis by the Cynnal y Cardi (Ceredigion), Arwain Powys and Arloesi Gwynedd Local Action Groups.

 

It has received funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government. It is also part funded by Gwynedd County Council, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), Ceredigion County Council and Powys County Council.