A chance to have a look at some highlights of events held in the past by the People & Wildlife Officer.
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Summer Holiday Family Fun 2009 at Gilfach Farm Nature Reserve
Wild About Nature - Fantastic Micro Rafts
Designed by the motley crew of young wild about nature members, these fabulous rafts scaled the rapids and nearly all the rafts made it but some succumbed to the Mighty Marteg!
Wild Woodland Art
Encouraged by RWT People & Wildlife Officer Suzie Fraser to be inspired! "Dress a tree! Design a gnome village! Be a woodland sprite! Make a sculpture or leaf mosaic" she enthused. Young and old alike were spurred on to make and create using what nature had to offer.
Tracking for Treasure
Which way? How deep? How high? What is it? Can you create a trail too? The summer fun was rounded off with learning new skills on how to enjoy nature by seeing, smelling and touching to engage with the nature. |
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Enjoying Nature
March 2009
 The Rhayader Cylch Methrin pre-school group enjoyed a sunny hillside walk at Radnorshire Wildlife Trust's Gilfach nature reserve, as part of the BBC Breathing Places "Do One thing" campaign which is encouraging people of all ages to "enjoy nature." The children observed frogspawn and searched for frogs, played leapfrog, made frog puppets, listened to a story and sung froggy songs. "The children had a terrific time as always," said Julia Lewis the group Leader.
Seasonal walks and activities can be arranged for all kinds of community groups and schools. Each season brings a different experience to be enjoyed and discovered. In spring, with the trees coming into leaf the air is filled with birdsong. Come and see warblers, redstarts, pied flycatchers and dippers on the river and Red kites soaring overhead. The heather will be in full bloom in summer and wild pansies peek out from the grassy banks. After sunset glow-worms can be found on the old railway line part of the nature trail. Autumn sees the spectacular return of the salmon as they leap the waterfall on the River Marteg. The shy otter frequents its banks and sometimes a polecat skirts its way around the buildings of the wonderful old farm buildings. Winter frosts turn the valley into a photographer's dream and ravens and buzzards perform acrobatic aerial displays over the craggy hillsides. Gilfach nature reserve is open all year round to enjoy the changing seasons. |
Ratty & Toad visit Radnorshire!
October 2008
Characters from the book 'Wind in the Willows' were celebrated at half term by children at Rhayader and Llandrindod Wells libraries. Radnorshire Wildlife Trust led activities with a story involving Mole, Ratty, Mr Otter and Toad to mark the centenary of the famous children's book.
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Darylle Hardy, RWT Water Vole Project Officer & Suzie Fraser, RWT People & Wildlife Officer
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The children are being shown where ratty, mole and toad might live.
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Water Vole Project Officer Darylle Hardy explained, "The name ‘Ratty' is a bit of a misnomer because the character was actually a water vole and not a rat. As the children found out, water voles eat bankside vegetation and ‘plop' into the water when disturbed. When the book was written, people would have often heard them as they walked along a riverbank."
Many of the creatures from Wind in the Willows have had a hard time in the last 100 years. Otters are gradually re-establishing themselves in our rivers but water voles have declined drastically due to habitat loss and predation by American mink. There is even anecdotal evidence to suggest that toads are in decline. However, if their antics match those of Toad of Toad Hall then it's not surprising! |
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People and Wildlife 
