News

Springwatch to come from Pembrokeshire

Published

9 years ago

March 8, 2016

pembrokeshire-coast-national-park-photo-pembrokeshire-coast-has-been-established-as-a-national-park SPRINGWATCH is back for an Easter Special that looks at how our Great British wildlife is faring in Spring 2016, after the exceptional winter weather. And this year Springwatch at Easter will be based in Pembrokeshire – Britain’s only coastal national park.
Internationally renowned for its plants and animals, the team will showcase the best it has to offer, just as the countryside is bursting into colour and life. With a mild climate, relatively long daylight hours and low rainfall along the coast, it’s perfect for the variety of species which live there.
From the guillemots and razorbills that nest on the rocky ledges, to the choughs, which probe for food on the short, chopped grassland and limestone cliffs.
There are skylarks, kestrels and peregrines soaring overhead, and reed bunting, sedge warblers, and jack snipe hidden in the lakes and reeds – we might even be lucky enough to get a glimpse of the otters.
Chris and Michaela launch the “Springwatch: Do Something Great Campaign” by joining a beach clean at Freshwater West.
In conjunction with the Marine Conservation Society, National Trust and Keep Wales Tidy, we’re looking at how plastics are affecting the environment and what we can all do to help. The remarkably warm and wet winter weather this year has affected the signs of spring, with premature flowers, blossoms and blooms.
And wildlife out and about earlier than normal.
Springwatch weatherman Nick Miller will be on location with a giant map of the UK etched into the sand at Broad Haven Beach, to explain the year’s weird weather so far and the sort of spring we might expect.
Skomer
Meanwhile Martin will be exploring the UKs favourite nature reserve – Skomer. Having been closed up for the winter, Martin is on the first trip out to the island this spring. As part of the ‘Springwatch: Do Something Great’ campaign Martin will become a volunteer for the Wildlife Trust team, helping with its annual spring clean of the island and finding out the effects the wild winter weather has had on its animal inhabitants.
Sea Empress
Twenty years ago the oil tanker Sea Empress ran into trouble off the coast of Milford Haven. The result was a wildlife disaster with thousands of sea birds killed by the oil that seeped onto the West Wales beaches.
Springwatch reporter Lolo Williams remembers it well. He was working as an RSPB warden at the time and helped to lift hundreds of ailing sea birds out of the oil slicks. Twenty years on he has returned to the coast to see what legacy remains of that dreadful time and to track down the volunteers who helped him at the time.
This year, presenters Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Martin Hughes-Games will be launching the big BBC volunteering campaign: “Springwatch: Do Something Great”, with its own wildlife appeal, asking viewers to get out and sign up for a range of voluntary activities, all designed to help our UK wildlife.

Community

Festive celebrations at St Davids Cathedral this weekend

Published

25 mins ago

December 21, 2024

Tom Sinclair

ST DAVIDS Cathedral is set to host two special events on Sunday (Dec 22), offering a blend of joyful participation and traditional carol singing to mark the Christmas season.

In the morning, families are invited to the Scratch Nativity at 11:00am. Attendees are encouraged to come dressed as wise men, angels, sheep, or shepherds and take part in an unrehearsed retelling of the Christmas story. Canon Leigh described the event as: “Complete, wonderful chaos for an hour… but with some poignant, thought-provoking moments to centre ourselves on the real meaning of Christmas.”

Later in the evening, the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols by Candlelight will take place at 7:00pm, featuring the Cathedral Choir. The event, steeped in tradition, will see the cathedral bathed in candlelight as carols and scripture readings fill the historic space.

Doors will open at 5:45pm for those seeking unreserved seating, and a large turnout is expected for this beloved Christmas celebration.

Crime

Three men from London admit their guilt over illegal cannabis farm

Published

52 mins ago

December 21, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THREE men admit their guilt after police discover over 700 cannabis plants during a raid on a former school building in Llandysul.

Officers from Dyfed-Powys Police executed a warrant at the former Ysgol Gynradd Llandysul on Heol Llyn Y Fran on November 15. Inside, they found 737 cannabis plants spread across multiple rooms.

Armeld Troksi, 29, and Njazi Gjana, 27, both from Empire Avenue in Edmonton, London, along with Ervin Gjana, 24, from Durham Avenue in Romford, were arrested at the scene and later charged with producing cannabis.

The three men appeared before Swansea Crown Court, where they admitted their involvement in the illegal operation. Defence solicitor Joshua Scouller requested a pre-sentence report for Ervin Gjana, which was granted by Judge Geraint Walters.

Sentencing is scheduled for January 20.

A Dyfed-Powys Police spokesperson said: “Following a warrant executed at the former school on Heol Llyn Y Fran, officers discovered a significant cannabis grow containing 737 plants.

“We are grateful to the local community for their continued support and cooperation. Officers will remain in the area while the site is secured.

“Our commitment remains firm in disrupting drug production and supply networks across our force area.

“We encourage residents to report any suspicious activity, no matter how small it may seem. Every piece of information can make a difference, and reports can easily be submitted through our website.”

News

Protest in Lampeter to save Wales’ oldest university

Published

1 hour ago

December 21, 2024

Tom Sinclair

CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save Wales’ oldest university staged a march and demonstration last Friday (Dec 20) in a bid to highlight the plight of the Lampeter campus.

The protest, organised by the Lampeter Society, brought together former and current students, along with local residents, to oppose plans by the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) to relocate humanities courses to Carmarthen next September.

The rally began at Lampeter Rugby Club at 10:30am, with demonstrators marching to the university campus. Despite the timing—on a weekday and so close to Christmas—organisers reported a strong turnout.

Ieuan Davies, one of the organisers and a Lampeter alumnus from the 1980s, said: “We wanted to show support for the students whose education is being directly affected by these plans, and to remind decision-makers of the devastating impact this will have on the local economy and culture.”

Established in 1822, Lampeter is Wales’ oldest higher education institution. In 2009, it merged with Trinity College Carmarthen and later joined with Swansea Metropolitan University to form UWTSD.

The proposed relocation of the humanities faculty has sparked concerns about the long-term sustainability of higher education in Lampeter. Campaigners argue that losing the faculty would mark the end of over 200 years of academic heritage in the town.

The Lampeter Society has also launched a petition calling on the university and the Welsh Government to create a ‘viable, sustainable plan’ for the campus’s future. The petition requires 10,000 signatures to trigger a debate in the Senedd and can be accessed at https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/246410.