27 December 2007
Welsh sycamore is putting a spring in the step of the world's clog dancers
Recreating the historic oak woodlands of Meirionydd will be helping to put a spring into the step of some of the world’s top clog dancers!
One of the UK’s best known clog makers – Trefor Owen – has just re-located to the Llyn Peninsular and now the Meirionnydd Oakwoods Project is providing him with the timber to make the wooden soles for his footwear.
Sycamore from Coed Aberartro at Llanbedr near Harlech is being felled by Coed Cadw (Woodland Trust) as it starts a new management project aimed at allowing more light to encourage the growth of native oak, ash and birch trees.
“Sycamore is one of the best types of wood for clogs, it’s light and resilient has an extra bit of spring in it and makes a great noise,” said Trefor, who has set up his world famous clog making business in Cricieth after moving south from Yorkshire.
“I always like to use local timber wherever I can, but finding sycamore in north Wales is a bit difficult. Fortunately the Woodland Trust has come to the rescue,” he said.
He found out about the wood from Rhydian Roberts of Coed Cadw, which runs the Meirionydd Oakwoods Project in partnership with Forestry Commission Wales, the Countryside Council for Wales and other organisations.
“It’s great to know that we are not just recreating an important native woodland, but also adding value to the timber we are taking from the site,” said Rhydian.
“We want to ensure that our diverse native woodlands thrive wherever that is possible and at Coed Aberartro the very dense canopy is preventing most other species growing, and what,” said Rhydian. “And what’s even more exciting is the thought that timber from our woodlands will be finding its way onto the feet of dancers all over the world.”
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The work is the latest part of the Meirionydd Oakwoods Habitat Management Project’s £700,000 scheme to help the regeneration of more than 50 native woodlands across the county.
“The long term benefits of this work will be tremendous encouraging the growth of OUR many other of our native woodland species – plants, insects and small mammals,” he said.
Working with the community council and local people Rhydian has drawn up a felling plan which will help increase biodiversity without creating a major visual impact. And Coed Cadw is protecting the remnants of a arboretum – mature Douglas fir, Japanese Cedar, Redwood and Monkey Puzzle tree - established when the wood was part of the Cooke family estate.
“Some people are concerned that the management project will have an adverse effect on the woods, but within two to three years we shall see real benefits which will make it even more attractive than it is now,” Rhydian added.
The Meirionydd Oakwoods Habitat Management Project includes over 50 woods across a thousand hectares of Meirionnydd. Coed Cadw is due to carry out £700,000 of work as part of the project with half the money from the European Union’s Objective 1, European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) through the Welsh Assembly Government.
The other half is being raised by Coed Cadw itself, representing a major investment in the natural beauty and wildlife of the Snowdonia National Park.
Contact:
Rory Francis (Publicity and Public Affairs Officer for Wales) - 01766 832563 or 07760 171174 Afallon, Tanygrisiau, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd LL41 3RH Email: roryfrancis@woodland-trust.org.uk
The Woodland Trust Press Office - 01476 581121, e-mail media@woodland-trust.org.uk
Images
Digital images of Trefor Owen making clogs in Coed Aber Artro can be downloaded here:
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Coed Cadw (The Woodland Trust)
The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. It has 250,000 members and supporters. The Trust has four key aims: i) No further loss of ancient woodland; ii) Restoring and improving the biodiversity of woods; iii) Increasing new native woodland; iv) Increasing people’s awareness and enjoyment of woodland.
Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,000 sites in its care covering approximately 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres). These include over 100 sites in Wales, with a total area of 1,580 hectares (3,900 acres). It offers free public access to nearly all of its sites. Further news can be accessed via www.coed-cadw.org.uk The Trust adopted a new Welsh language name in 2000: “Coed Cadw”. This is an old Welsh term, used in medieval laws to describe protected or preserved woodland.
Editor’s notes:
The project is set up to care for the oak woodlands of Meirionnydd, promoting their importance to the local community, their visitors, the economy and the environment
The Meirionnydd Oakwoods Habitat Management Project is the result of several years’ work by a local partnership of government, non-government and private conservation and forestry organisations working closely with the European Union.The partner organisations include Forestry Commission Wales, the Countryside Council for Wales, Tilhill Forestry Ltd, Flintshire Woodlands, the Woodland Trust, Ffestiniog Railway, the National Trust and Snowdonia National Park Authority.The project is supported by a 50% grant worth £1,111,673.00 from the European Union’s, Objective 1, European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) directed through the Welsh Assembly Government. The other 50% comes from the partner organisations and private landowners. This gives a total of £2,223,346.00 to be spent in the area over 4 years. There are 58 woodlands and a railway line included in the project area, covering 1710 hectares. The project ends in September 2008.
Objective 1 funding is designed to “narrow the gap between the development levels of the various regions”. Regions that are lagging behind usually have a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) below 75% of the Community average and typically have:
• a low level of investment;
• a higher than average unemployment rate;
• lack of services for businesses and individuals;
• poor basic infrastructure.
The European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) is designed to:
• Help preserve the link between diversified farming and the land.
• Improve and support the competitiveness of agriculture as a key activity in rural areas.
• Ensure the diversification of the economy in rural areas.
• Help to keep thriving communities in rural areas.
• Preserve and improve the environment, the landscape and the rural heritage.
The Meirionnydd Oak Woodlands are important because they are made up of natural woodlands and ancient woodland sites that have been damaged and are now being managed to bring them back to a natural condition.
The natural woodlands are considered to be some of the best areas of Atlantic Oak Woodland in Europe and so have been designated as candidate Special Areas of Conservation (cSAC).
Sites designated as cSAC’s form a part of “Natura 2000”, a network of conservation sites across the European Union, aimed at protecting species and habitats that are rare, endangered or vulnerable.
Atlantic Oakwoods are found on the Atlantic fringe of Europe from Northern Scotland right the way round to Portugal. This coastal fringe is heavily influenced by the Gulf Stream, which keeps the area warm but wet. The Atlantic coastal climate creates damp humid conditions that support unique communities of ferns, mosses and liverworts, lichen and fungi. Some of the species found in these oakwoods cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
Welsh European Funding Office Editor’s Notes
Together with public and private sector match funding, some £2.75bn has now been invested in Wales over the past 5 years through the European Structural Funds Programmes managed by the Welsh European Funding Office.
This level of investment has created or safeguarded over 87,000 jobs in Wales, improving prosperity, increasing opportunity and transforming communities once considered economic black spots.The primary objective of the Welsh European Funding Office is to ensure that Wales derives the maximum possible benefit from the European Structural Funds over the period 2000-06. It is part of the Welsh Assembly Government's Economic Development and Transport Group.
A range of partnership bodies in the public, private and voluntary sector delivers projects.
The Structural Funds aim to promote sustainable economic growth, increase prosperity in all parts of Wales, reduce disparities within Wales and tackle inequality, inactivity and social exclusion.
Simon Jenkins, WAG press office.
Tel: 02920 898203.
E-mail: simon.jenkins@wales.gsi.gov.uk
