A short distance from the M4 motorway in South East Wales, sandwiched between
farms on one side and a power station the other, an innovative environmental
project is creating new opportunities for visiting and resident wildlife. It
also has massive potential to meet the educational and recreational needs of
Newport’s diverse communities.
Gwent Levels Wetlands, Wales’ newest and most exciting nature reserve,
is managed by the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) primarily to conserve
wildlife.
“In recent years birds have suffered from habitat destruction, such as
the permanent flooding of tidal mudflats in Cardiff Bay. This project aims to
put right those losses,” Says Jonathan Neale of CCW.
The Gwent Levels Wetlands reserve was established in 2000, on the Northern bank
of the Severn Estuary near the city of Newport, in order to conserve the archaeologically
sensitive Levels and the mudflats, an ecologically rich landscape revealed only
at low tide.
Careful environmental management is bringing back interesting plants, and providing
special habitat for endangered birds, amphibians and mammals. Farmland birds
such as lapwing, redshank, water rail, skylark, linnet and reed bunting are
becoming a common sight where they were once rare; newly created reed beds are
attracting visiting marsh harriers and bitterns. Other creatures set to benefit
include hares, water voles and great crested newts.
The Wetlands also fulfil an important social function, providing accessible
natural green space near to an urban area. CCW recognises that different people
perceive natural places in different ways: ecologists value green spaces for
their rich biodiversity; urban dwellers value the contrast between urban settings
and wild places where they can escape from life and enjoy the tranquillity to
be found in contact with nature.
That is why they are developing the Newport Wetlands and Environmental Education
and Visitor Centre in partnership with the Royal Society for the Protection
of Birds (RSPB) and Newport City Council. The centre is due to open in 2007
and the partnership is currently seeking funding for £3m capital costs,
plus revenue to operate the project.
Tony Pickup, Manager of the Wetlands says, “we want everyone to realise
that even if we live in cities, the environment is all around us and we are
all a part of it.” That is why the Wetlands Centre are putting a lot of
thought into audience development from the outset, and considering how to attract
diverse audience from Newport’s multicultural communities - whether to
bid for outreach workers, or whether to rely on an on-site communications team
to put in place culturally relevant environmental interpretation.
Fawzia Haq of Minority Ethnic Women’s Network (MEWN) Cymru works to involve
women from South Wales’ ethnic communities in a range of environmental
projects, including visits to local green spaces. She has visited Gwent Wetlands,
and liked it a lot, although she states that it would not be suitable for a
visit by a women’s group until the facilities are ready in 2007. Meanwhile,
Gwent Wetlands Project Officer Sue Rice is consulting with Fawzia and other
community leaders to find out their requirements. If their ideas can be incorporated
into designs from the start, it will help to make the new Environmental Education
and Visitor Centre wholly welcoming to all members of the community.
Fawzia plans to promote the Wetlands reserve to ethnic community groups in Newport
once the Visitor Centre is open. She aims to stage activities which will involve
the young people from Newport’s Pakistani, Bangladeshi and other ethnic
communities. In this way she hopes to attract the older generations to come
and enjoy this natural green space for family outings on their own initiative.
Fawzia can take inspiration from BEN’s Green Space Wales worker Ayarun
Nessa, who organised a ‘Fruity Beauty’ workshop at the Llanelli
Wetlands Centre in September 2005 with Swansea-based Environmental Artist Lis
Parsons. The aims of the workshop were to give Bangladeshi women from the Hafod
Community Centre ESOL class (English for Speakers of Other Languages) a chance
to get out of their usual inner-city environment and enjoy a local green space;
to encourage them to practice their English; and to raise awareness of wider
sustainable development issues through culturally relevant activities.
What better place to do activities of this kind than a wide river valley (like
those in Bangladesh?) teaming with migrating birds (like those our grand parents
remember from back home?) within a short bus ride from Wales’ newest city!
Contact:
Fawzia Haq, MEWN Cymru, Tel.029 2046 4445 / email:
Fawzia.Haq@ccw.gov.uk)
Resources:
‘Providing Accessible Natural Greenspace in towns and Cities: a practical
guide to assessing the resource and implementing local standards for provision
in Wales.’ Countryside Council for Wales