Natur Cymru

Issue 19

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What does ‘sustainable farming’ mean?

The flawed post-war vision of an ‘efficient’ farming industry, able to compete with world commodity markets, is in transition. The promotion of efficiency has proved a costly option for the taxpayer and consumer, and for the rural community and the environment. The buzzword now is ‘sustainable’ farming. James Robertson describes his own attempts at sustainable farming, and how a Cuban adventure put this into perspective.

Summary

Snowdonia's Corvids

Studies have shown the crow family to among the most intelligent of all mammals, not just birds, which may be why we attribute such anthropomorphic characteristics to them. DARRYL JONES looks at a corner of north-west Wales where all seven members of the family can be found within a few miles of each other.

The meadows of my youth

This article tells the story of a community campaign in Bangor to preserve green land from being developed. After a lengthy battle, a recent ecological survey showed that rare habitats and new species in the county were present in the Eithinog area and Brewery Fields, confirming the importance of the site’s biodiversity. But the threat remains. MAREDUDD AP RHEINALLT is still in the forefront of the battle to safeguard these fields.

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

Angling and bats

Bats and fishermen both enjoy the dusk and occasionally they may have an inadvertent close encounter! RICHARD DODD gives more information about bats and explain what to do if you catch one while fishing.

Outside the walls and into the field

Few countries can rival Wales as a place to experience nature, and to study it. With a proud track record behind it, the University of Wales Aberystwyth is developing its courses in field biology and conservation, and pleasing its students of all ages, as JAN MARTIN explains.

The song of the woodlands

At dawn or dusk, the appeal of a wood in spring owes much to the melodious songs of those birds like the wood warbler, tree sparrow, redstart, tits and flycatchers, which thrive in woods. Their numbers have been falling, and we need to know why is we are going to continue enjoying their presence in years to come, as PATRICK LINDLEY explains.

The vanishing ocean traveller

They undertake arguably the most daunting journey in the animal kingdom, they can move from salt water to fresh and back, and they can occur in stupendous numbers: eels are important economically and ecologically. Yet numbers of this mysterious fish are falling dramatically, the elver fishery is unsustainable, and conservation measures need to be taken urgently, as TRISTAN HATTON-ELLIS and ZIGGY OTTO explain.

The return of the red squirrel

Many older people in Wales remember seeing red squirrels in their youth, in the days before greys took over the land. It is now clear that reds are unlikely to survive in the face of the grey squirrels' expansion, and action is needed if reds are to survive in Wales. CRAIG SHUTTLEWORTH reports on an encouraging fight back.