Community

Huge response received to help NRW develop new outdoor recreation strategy

Published

12 months ago

January 25, 2024

THE Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum’s (PCF) Stakeholder Manager Tom Luddington and the wider PCF team have been working with Natural Resources Wales (NRW) to engage with people across Wales, and further afield, to help design a new Outdoor Recreation Strategy for the land under the care of NRW – which amounts to roughly 7% of Wales – over 130,000 hectares of land.

The stakeholder engagement process has been a great success so far allowing for more than 4000 people to provide their ideas, concerns, support, and input for the new strategy.

The strategy hopes to answer the question: ‘What is the future of outdoor recreation on the land cared for by Natural Resources Wales (NRW), considering the climate and nature emergencies, sustainability, and the well-being of future generations?’

PCF joined NRW to help facilitate multiple workshops across Wales, including a workshop for Chairs of all the Local Access Forums in Wales, and online focus groups to develop ideas for the strategy.

Following this, NRW and PCF worked with partners to invite over 250 representative organisations and key stakeholders to complete an online survey to inform the strategy development. This survey was shared widely, and we received 3465 responses to the survey, of which over 100 were from organisations and 3365 were from individuals representing the whole outdoor recreation sector and a wide variety user groups.

Dawn Thompson who is leading the project for NRW said: “We are really pleased to have had such a huge response for the workshops, focus groups and online survey. It shows the true importance of recreation on land under the care of NRW and has provided valuable insight from a wide variety of user groups, individuals, and organisations to help NRW develop the new strategy. The strategy will really help evolve how we work in partnership with others to effect change and drive positive outcomes in outdoor recreation for the future.”

During the next phase, NRW will use all the feedback received to create the strategy which will set a vision to 2050 for outdoor recreation on land cared for by NRW and highlight priority areas for focus to 2030 in line with the current NRW Corporate Plan – Nature and People Thriving Together.

Community

Paul Lucas receives British Empire Medal for services to education and charity

Published

2 hours ago

January 23, 2025

Tom Sinclair

ONE of the driving forces behind the creation of Haverfordwest High VC School has been honoured with the British Empire Medal.

Mr Paul Lucas received his insignia from His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Dyfed, Miss Sara Edwards, at a special ceremony at County Hall, Haverfordwest, on Monday, January 20^th.

Mr Lucas was named in the New Year Honours for services to education and charity in Pembrokeshire.

Mr Lucas was Chairman of Governors at the newly created Haverfordwest High VC School at the time of its official opening by Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal in 2022.

Mr Lucas oversaw the amalgamation of the former Sir Thomas Picton and Tasker Milward schools into Haverfordwest High and the building of the fantastic new school on the former Sir Thomas Picton site.

Hosting the event, the Chairman of Pembrokeshire County Council Cllr Steve Alderman noted that many, many thousands of students for decades to come will enjoy first class educational facilities at the new school, thanks to the dedication of Mr Lucas.

His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Dyfed, Miss Sara Edwards, said: “On behalf of His Majesty The King, it was an honour and an enormous privilege to present Mr Paul Lucas with the British Empire Medal.

“Mr Lucas has provided incredible service to Pembrokeshire and Haverfordwest in particular and has been a driving force for educational improvement. His work will have a lasting legacy for future generations.”

Assisting the Lord-Lieutenant for the ceremony was Lord-Lieutenant Cadet Sergeant Mariana Lemon.

Also in attendance for the special occasion were the Leader of Pembrokeshire County Council, Cllr Jon Harvey; the High Sheriff of Dyfed, Helen Jones, and Deputy Lieutenant of Dyfed, Col Martin Green, along with Mr Lucas’ family and invited guests.

Community

County Show calling all Pembrokeshire parents and teachers

Published

2 hours ago

January 23, 2025

Tom Sinclair

SCHOOLCHILDREN from across the county are invited to the next Food Story event, Nutritious, Delicious & Local, which will take place at the Pembrokeshire County Showground on Wednesday, March 5, and Thursday, March 6, 2025.

This exciting event, suitable for pupils from Year 2 to Year 11, will offer a hands-on learning experience focusing on health and well-being, as well as the role of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in local food production. Topics will include how weather and climate impact farming, the growth of crops, and the daily challenges faced by farmers.

Children will also have the chance to cook and sample local produce, making it a truly interactive and educational experience.

All primary and secondary schools across Pembrokeshire will receive an invitation and booking form to attend. If teachers have not received the email and would like to participate, they are encouraged to contact the Pembrokeshire Showground Office at [email protected] as soon as possible.

Don’t miss this opportunity to inspire the next generation about the importance of nutritious, local food!

Community

Two hundred years of railways: ‘Railway 200’ launches in Aberystwyth

Published

3 hours ago

January 23, 2025

Tom Sinclair

WALES is geared up to mark 200 years of passenger rail travel this year as the UK marks the historic anniversary of the advent of the modern rail.

As part of the celebrations, a launch event is being held in Aberystwyth today, kicking off a year of events around the country.

Dr Louise Moon, Transport for Wales’ Railway 200 Programme Lead said it was exciting to be showcasing Wales’ history as well as promoting the innovations that are taking place now.

She said: “We’re incredibly excited to be sharing so much of our history across Wales within our communities, telling the stories of innovation, grit and determination.

“Railway 200 celebrates so much of our social and cultural history and how the railways transformed our country and made it what it is today.

“Towns like Aberystwyth grew massively with the arrival of the railway so it’s great to be launching the year of events here.

“We want to inspire a new generation not just with our proud history but through science, technology and innovation that is taking place right now as we are going through the next major transformation of our network which will connect future generations within Wales.”

While the milestone marks 200 years since the first passenger steam journey on the Stockton & Darlington Railway in September 27, 1825, Wales can rightly claim a huge part in the build up to that historic journey.

In 1804 Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick designs the Pen-y-Darren locomotive which pulled 10 tonnes of coal 10 miles from the Pen-y-Darren Ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil to Abercynon.

And then in 1807, the Swansea and Mumbles Railway saw the world’s first fare paying passengers, with horses pulling their carriage along the rail tracks, proving a widely popular experience.

Transport for Wales is writing its own chapter in that history electrifying the core valley lines in south east Wales, building new stations and depots, and making an £800 million investment in new trains.

As part of the wider plans to tell the story of Railway 200 across the UK, four main themes will be explored.