Natur Cymru
In a recent lecture, the author Bill McKibben
noted that the natural environment seems to play a less important
role in the life of each succeeding generation. If this is true,
then we had better discover new ways to bring nature into the lives
of our children, before they become trapped in a virtual world
devoid of the fundamentals of humanity.
It would be impossible to separate William Condry’s life from
the wildlife which he spent so much of his time observing with
delight and describing in his clear, vivid writings. Most at home
in the field, he wanted a fresh wind to blow through books such as
his autobiographical Wildlife, My Life, sadly now out of
print. It remains a constant pleasure for those who know it, and
deserves to win new audiences. In this issue Chris Fuller
celebrates the accomplishments and personality of this much-loved
chronicler of nature in Wales.
Nature is also at the heart of the National Botanic Garden, as
Jan Moseley reports. Among the rich natural flora, several species
of wild orchids accompany five species of fungi new to Wales; while
dormice inhabit the woods, bats fly above the icehouse at dusk,
hares frolic in the meadows and otters lie up by the lakes. This
exceptional biodiversity, in its historic parkland setting, makes
the Garden a wonderful springboard for future conservation
research.
Wildlife is dependent on the activities of people, especially
landowners, and this can be for good or ill. More and more
landowners, free from the pressure to make profits, wish to do the
right thing for the wildlife on their land, but are not sure what
to do. It is never easy or straightforward. One Wildlife Trust
project has shown the way, leading to the creation of networks of
like-minded owners, and of private nature reserves, as Julian Jones
reports.
So much of nature lies hidden from view and beyond our
experience. The more we can discover about what lives beneath the
waves, the less the marine environment will be treated as out of
sight, out of mind. Several articles report on what we are finding
out about the coast and sea - the implications of coastal processes
on conservation designations, the results of marine surveys and the
fortunes of individual species, such as skates and rays.
As these and other articles demonstrate, there is no shortage of
opportunities for people to be re-connected with Welsh nature. Will
a new generation of naturalists put aside the superficial charms of
cyberspace, and fall for those of a tangible, living environment?
It is a worthwhile hope, and one in which Natur Cymru has
its own part to play.