Issue 15

Environment Strategy – a chance for all

The assembly's environmental Strategy is often described by policy makers as the last leg of a three-legged stool, the others being the Economic and Social Strategies. All three legs are necessary for the stool to stand up – and strong policies on the environment, as well as the economy and society, are essential if Wales is to meet the challenges of the future, for example by supporting Wales' Sustainable Development Scheme. What will all this mean for nature? TONY PRATER investigates.

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A million trees – the tale of a tree nursery

Alongside farming, a host of other green enterprises has gradually become an important part of the Welsh rural economy and community. Getting one going is not an obvious route to prosperity, and its rewards are often as much philosophical as material. VICKY MOLLER explores the personal history behind one such enterprise.

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Building a truly Sustainable Wales

Wales has all the ingredients to become a world leader in delivering sustainability; and the Assembly's Environment Strategy, currently out to consultation, will help direct its sustainable development scheme. The challenge of building a truly sustainable society is daunting, but, as PAUL ALLEN reports, the Assembly has taken a visionary leap in selecting our "ecological footprint", the ecological impact each of us has, as a key policy indicator.

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A bees' nest of activity

What could be nicer than lying in the long grass, in a field of flowers, watching bumblebees going about their business? When those bumbles have numbers on their backs, and you have to watch their nest for hours on end recording every detail of their activities, quite a lot of dedication is called for. ANNIE HAYCOCK describes her unexpected role as bee-watcher extraordinaire, observing the only shrill carder bee nest ever found in Britain.

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Wales’s Birds and Communities

GWEN THOMAS was appointed to work on one of the RSPB’s latest projects, 'Aren't Welsh Birds Brilliant?' Here she describes the aim of the project and discusses, in particular, the challenge of trying to reach out to communities and include them in conservation activities, so that the project doesn’t only benefit birds but will be valuable, in the long-term, to the people of Wales.

This article is written in Welsh. A translation is available on request.

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The hedgehog – a prickly character

What is spiny and rolls into a ball when alarmed? Most of us know the answer. But how much do we really know about hedgehogs, which we welcome into our gardens as friends and allies? There is much more to these fascinating mammals, as PHIL MORGAN explains.

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Wales Stone Forum

As part of his work JOHN DAVIES contributes to the development and work of the Wales Building Stones Forum and he is the present Chairman. In this article he gives the background to the forum and discusses some of the work that has been happening in the last three years.

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Walking on Moonwort

Moonwort… moonwort… roll the word around your mouth a bit. Nice isn’t it – a round, friendly sound. KAREN RAWLINS eulogises about this choice and delightful inhabitant of a habitat under threat.

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