Clwydian Range & Dee Valley Award presented for 2022
An inspirational Llanarmon-yn-Iâl volunteer has been presented with a coveted countryside award.
The Clwydian Range & Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) present the award every year to a community, individual or business that has made an outstanding contribution to the landscape it covers.
This year the awards is recognising the volunteering work of Christine Evans.
Prior to her retirement Christine was a consultant urologist and transplant surgeon and was responsible for putting Ysbyty Glan Clwyd on the urological map.
She was awarded overall hospital doctor of the year award in 1997 and is a recipient of British urology’s highest award.
Christine has also worked tirelessly in the developing world including Errbil and Duhok in Northern Iraq, Zimbabwe, Zambia to name but a few, where she has helped develop vital urological services.
She has been involved with the AONB for many years and first became part of the Partnership or as it was then known as the Joint Advisory Committee, when she was a County Councillor for Llanarmon-yn-Iâl and following on from that a member of the AONB Partnership.
She is also the Chair of the Heritage, Culture & Communities Working Group a role that she takes very seriously and very rarely misses a meeting and sometimes she even supplies cakes from the Llanarmon shop.
Christine tries her utmost to make any site visits and was one of the first people to try out the ‘Tramper’ (off road disability scooter - which the Friends of the Clwydian Range & Dee Valley purchased).
She is one of the original Board members of the Friends of the Clwydian Range & Dee Valley, and once again is always on hand to help in any way that she can.
Christine also restarted and ran the Youth Club from 2009 till 2017 held at the Old School House, Llanarmon.
AONB Officer, Howard Sutcliffe, said: “The AONB have benefitted over the years from all who have given their time and effort to help improve the landscape and communities of the AONB and it is important that recognition and appreciation was given from the AONB to those special people and groups.
“Christine has been fundamental in putting the ‘heart’ back into the community of Llanarmon-yn-Iâl.
With her support for the Raven, which is a community run pub, Christine is also a regular volunteer at the Community Shop.
Chair of the AONB Partnership, Andrew Worthington OBE, said: “Christine is an inspiration to us all. Her enthusiasm, drive and ability to work with people at all levels for the greater good deserves respect and admiration. It is apparent for anyone to see that Christine has a real devotion to the AONB and will assist at any level to try and secure its future.
“On behalf of the AONB Team and the Partnership we would like to thank Christine for her diligent work for the AONB, we are very grateful to her."
Chair of the AONB Joint Committee, and Deputy Leader of Flintshire County Council, Councillor David Hughes said: “I am really pleased that Christine has been presented with this award. Her support to the AONB has been immense over the years and she has inspired so many.”
Councillor Win Mullen James, the Council's Lead Member for Local Development and Planning, said: “I am delighted that Christine has won this award. Her enthusiasm and drive for supporting the AONB has been nothing short of inspirational to so many people and I would like to personally thank her for all of her hard work.”
A night on the red carpet for the stars from Ysgol y Gwernant
Pupils from Ysgol y Gwernant, Llangollen, and their families were given the red-carpet treatment recently as a special film made by and starring the Year 6 class from the school was premiered at Llangollen Town Hall.
The film, entitled ‘A Time Travel Adventure: Discovering Castell Dinas Brân’s Camera Obscura, 1869 – 1910’, is the result of a project the pupils have undertaken with the Our Picturesque Landscape project, a Landscape Partnership Scheme funded by the National Lottery Heritage Trust.
Over the last few months, the Year 6 class have worked alongside filmmaker Rob Spaull to research, write, produce and star in the short film, which takes viewers on a journey into the past to discover the amazing history of Castell Dinas Brân in the late 19th century, in particular the Camera Obscura which stood on the peak of the hill overlooking the stunning views below, and was a major attraction for tourists visiting the Dee Valley in search of the sublime.
The film premiered to an audience of over 100 people, and the children enjoyed a red-carpet entrance, photo booth and popcorn, before seeing their creation on the big screen.
The event also saw the launch of ‘An Animated History of the Dee Valley’, a virtual flythrough of the Dee Valley past and present, which allows viewers to experience the sights and sounds of the landscape through the ages.
Both films can now be viewed on their website.
Councillor Win Mullen-James, Lead Member for Local Development and Planning said: “This project really shows what a talented group of young people Llangollen has, and I’m sure this is an experience that the children will remember and value for a very long time."
Hannah Marubbi, Project Manager for Our Picturesque Landscape: “It was such a pleasure to work with the children of Ysgol y Gwernant in creating this amazing film, and wonderful to see their delight at having it premiered in front of their friends, family and the wider Llangollen community. We were also thrilled to be able to share the digital animation created by DextraVisual, which looked truly impressive on the big screen. We are very grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for enabling us to deliver these experiences that explore our rich local heritage.”
Year 6 pupils at Ysgol y Gwernant working with filmmaker Rob Spaull to create their film
The audience at Llangollen Town Hall enjoying the Ysgol y Gwernant film on the big screen
Councillor Win Mullen-James presenting pupils with a framed Dinas Brân poster in
recognition of their amazing work creating the film
Plas Newydd Seed Swap
Join us on the 26 March at Plas Newydd, Llangollen for our annual Seed Swap Event! Bring your spare seeds and cuttings to swap and exchange with other green-fingered visitors.
From 10am - 11am we will be open to those who have seeds and cuttings to swap, and from 11am onwards they can be joined by anyone who is looking to start growing!
A donation of 50p per packet is suggested for those who do not bring seeds to swap.
There will also be a gardening themed raffle on the day, plus a session with Nature for Health!
Playing with time
On Saturday 4th March 2.30pm - 4pm, Sean Harris and cave palaeontologist Professor Danielle Schreve (Royal Holloway University London) discuss their extensive creative collaboration with Elinor Gwynn at Ruthin Craft Centre.
Moving between time-frames stretching from twenty-fifths of a second to geological epochs they consider how understanding mammalian response to past abrupt climate change can help to avoid future extinctions (including our own), how past environments create valuable context for the present – and how the research lineage of which Danielle Schreve is a contemporary part emerged from the mythology of the Old Testament. Were we happier in a universe defined in ritual storytelling? And where does the most enduring truth lie?
Followed by an opportunity to experience their collaborative work The Cave Hunters And The Truth Machine in an installation within the watermill at Loggerheads Country Park, CH7 5LH. This will also offer a unique opportunity to talk to Harris and Schreve about their work both collaborative and as individuals working in diverse but complimentary disciplines.
The Cave Hunters And The Truth Machine runs in the watermill at Loggerheads Country Park, 6.00pm – 8.00pm. The piece is 25 minutes long and will run on a loop. Stay for as little or as long as you like – and perhaps embark on a meditative walk at dusk through this beautiful and scientifically important limestone landscape using the animation app Udfil, specially created for Loggerheads, as your guide.
For more information, please visit the website.
Sheep tackle biodiversity support on Denbighshire hillside
Sheep are spearheading a project to boost wildflowers and wildlife on a Denbighshire hillside.
The Council’s Countryside Service has introduced a flock of sheep to Prestatyn Hillside to support the maintenance of the variety of wildflowers and wildlife that gives the site its special character.
The introduction of the animals is part of the ‘Unique Opportunities - Landscape Solutions for North East Wales’ Project and was supported and funded through the Welsh Government Rural Development Scheme and Natural Resources Wales.
Prestatyn Hillside SSSI was one of the project’s 40 potential nature conservation sites, designated for its internationally rare Limestone Grasslands.
The project aims to bring all sites into sustainable management regimes and reduce the need to mechanically manage sites using heavy plant and machinery, with a large focus on using traditional grazing livestock such as cattle, sheep and ponies.
Community consultation days were held at the Shed in Prestatyn to talk to members of the local community about the plans for the hillside and Botanical Surveys were also carried out in June 2021 to better understand what was currently on the site and act as a reference marker to monitor and direct future management.
Fencing and water were installed in January 2022 with all materials carried onto site by hand due to limited vehicle access. Kissing gates were also put up to ensure access was not limited along Offas Dyke Path.
Jack Parry, Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty North East Wales Project Officer, said: “The sheep coming are a hardy breed used to grazing high grounds and are able to survive outside in extreme weather conditions, as long as they are not disturbed they are happy grazing away. By using sheep to graze it allows us to manage the site more sustainably and reduce the need to use machinery on the site.
“Our aim is to support the high number of wildflowers and wildlife on the site. The sheep will help us achieve this by removing the dense rank vegetation and opening up the sward in the autumn/winter which will allow smaller flowering plants to flourish come the summer providing a haven for butterflies and other wildlife.
“The sheep will be on the site for a couple of months and only be grazing in one compartment at a time. During this time access will not be restricted but we will ask that dogs are kept under close control when passing through the compartment with sheep in.”
Councillor Barry Mellor, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, said: “Supporting and improving our local biodiversity is vitally important and a priority of the Council. I am pleased to see such a unique project underway at Prestatyn Hillside and look forward to seeing the benefits flourish at the site.”