#river-tywi — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #river-tywi, aggregated by home.social.
-
CARMARTHENSHIRE: RSPB buys 96-hectare ‘missing link’ to reconnect a rare Welsh rainforest — 60 years after it was split apart
A rare Welsh landscape split in two for almost 60 years is about to be made whole again.
RSPB Cymru has bought Gallt-y-bere, a 96-hectare stretch of ancient woodland, upland and peat bog on the banks of the River Tywi in Carmarthenshire, and calls it the “vital missing link” in one of Wales’s most important wildlife sites.
The land sits between the two separate halves of the charity’s Gwenffrwd-Dinas nature reserve, in the remote Elenydd uplands — and buying it means the reserve can be managed as one connected landscape for the first time since the 1960s.
That reconnection matters more than it might sound. For decades the wildlife of each half has been marooned in its own pocket; joined up, the habitats can support stronger, more diverse and more resilient populations that move freely across the whole reserve.
The site is a patchwork of internationally important habitats, including rare Atlantic oak woodland — better known as Celtic rainforest, for the damp, mild, lichen-hung conditions it shares with far wetter parts of the world.
There is ancient woodland too, along with peat bog and ffridd, the scrubby upland-fringe habitat that sits between farmed lowland and open mountain.
Gallt-y-bere is already a stronghold for the pied flycatcher, a summer migrant that thrives in Welsh oak woodland, and a home to cuckoos, wood warblers, whinchats and even pine martens.
The pied flycatcher, a summer migrant that thrives in the oak woodland at Gallt-y-bere (Image: RSPB / Ben Andrew)Crucially, the enlarged reserve is now big enough to support breeding hen harriers — a red-listed bird of prey occasionally seen over these uplands, but not known to have nested here in recent years.
The RSPB hopes that reconnecting and restoring the land will create the conditions to tempt the harriers to stay and breed, performing their spring “sky dances” high over the hills.
“Gallt-y-bere is a truly magical place, and I’m thrilled that we’re in a position to expand and improve its rare habitats and wildlife,” said Jonathan Cryer, site manager at RSPB Gwenffrwd-Dinas.
“Securing this site is a brilliant opportunity for us to strengthen ancient woodland, restore upland habitats and create the conditions needed for rare wildlife such as hen harrier to flourish in the future.”
The purchase was made possible by a philanthropic loan, followed by what the charity called a “generous” response from thousands of people who gave to its fundraising appeal.
The RSPB has a long history in this corner of Carmarthenshire, having worked at Gwenffrwd-Dinas for more than a century — first supporting the Kite Committee’s efforts to save the red kite when the bird was down to a handful of Welsh pairs, and later buying land to protect it.
The RSPB’s Gwenffrwd-Dinas nature reserve in the Elenydd, which Gallt-y-bere now reconnects (Image: RSPB / Nick Rodd)Surveys over the summer, funded by Natural Resources Wales, will map the full range of habitats and species on the new land and help shape how it is managed.
The charity says grasslands rich in rare plants — among them whorled caraway and wood bitter-vetch — could be expanded, and that it wants to work with local farming tenants to show how nature recovery and sustainable farming can sit side by side.
In time, RSPB Cymru says, it will work with local communities and partners to restore the newly joined-up landscape and protect it “for generations to come”.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
Meet Jinx, the biosecurity dog on a mission to protect Wales’ endangered seabirds
The four-legged recruit helping safeguard Welsh wildlife.Swansea residents encouraged to protect local garden wildlife
Simple steps to help nature thrive closer to home.Welsh farming and environment groups express shared budget concerns to First Minister
#birds #Carmarthenshire #cuckoos #Elenydd #featured #GalltYBere #GwenffrwdDinas #pineMarten #rainforest #RiverTywi #RSPB #whinchats #woodWarblers #woodland
Where nature recovery and sustainable farming meet. -
#Wales - #RSPB buys 'magical' 96-hectare landscape to reconnect #habitats
by Oscar Edwards, July 11, 2026
"A charity has bought a 96-hectare upland area of Gallt-y-bere in the hope of reconnecting two landscapes that are home to rare habitats and wildlife.
RSPB announced the purchase of the
'vital missing link' located by the banks of the #RiverTywi in #Carmarthenshire."The area falls between two separated parts of the bird conservation charity's Gwenffrwd-Dinas nature reserve in the Elenydd, it said.
"The move will allow conservationists to reconnect the fragmented landscape for the first time in 60 years, allowing #wildlife to move across the different areas and build stronger, more diverse and #sustainable #ecosystems."
Read more:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdx78nk7g25oArchived version:
https://archive.ph/3CavH#SolarPunkSunday #WildlifeHabitat #WildlifeCrossings #CelticRainforests #WildlifeDiversity #HabitRestoration #RareWildlife #NatureReserves
-
#Wales - #RSPB buys 'magical' 96-hectare landscape to reconnect #habitats
by Oscar Edwards, July 11, 2026
"A charity has bought a 96-hectare upland area of Gallt-y-bere in the hope of reconnecting two landscapes that are home to rare habitats and wildlife.
RSPB announced the purchase of the
'vital missing link' located by the banks of the #RiverTywi in #Carmarthenshire."The area falls between two separated parts of the bird conservation charity's Gwenffrwd-Dinas nature reserve in the Elenydd, it said.
"The move will allow conservationists to reconnect the fragmented landscape for the first time in 60 years, allowing #wildlife to move across the different areas and build stronger, more diverse and #sustainable #ecosystems."
Read more:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdx78nk7g25oArchived version:
https://archive.ph/3CavH#SolarPunkSunday #WildlifeHabitat #WildlifeCrossings #CelticRainforests #WildlifeDiversity #HabitRestoration #RareWildlife #NatureReserves
-
#Wales - #RSPB buys 'magical' 96-hectare landscape to reconnect #habitats
by Oscar Edwards, July 11, 2026
"A charity has bought a 96-hectare upland area of Gallt-y-bere in the hope of reconnecting two landscapes that are home to rare habitats and wildlife.
RSPB announced the purchase of the
'vital missing link' located by the banks of the #RiverTywi in #Carmarthenshire."The area falls between two separated parts of the bird conservation charity's Gwenffrwd-Dinas nature reserve in the Elenydd, it said.
"The move will allow conservationists to reconnect the fragmented landscape for the first time in 60 years, allowing #wildlife to move across the different areas and build stronger, more diverse and #sustainable #ecosystems."
Read more:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdx78nk7g25oArchived version:
https://archive.ph/3CavH#SolarPunkSunday #WildlifeHabitat #WildlifeCrossings #CelticRainforests #WildlifeDiversity #HabitRestoration #RareWildlife #NatureReserves
-
#Wales - #RSPB buys 'magical' 96-hectare landscape to reconnect #habitats
by Oscar Edwards, July 11, 2026
"A charity has bought a 96-hectare upland area of Gallt-y-bere in the hope of reconnecting two landscapes that are home to rare habitats and wildlife.
RSPB announced the purchase of the
'vital missing link' located by the banks of the #RiverTywi in #Carmarthenshire."The area falls between two separated parts of the bird conservation charity's Gwenffrwd-Dinas nature reserve in the Elenydd, it said.
"The move will allow conservationists to reconnect the fragmented landscape for the first time in 60 years, allowing #wildlife to move across the different areas and build stronger, more diverse and #sustainable #ecosystems."
Read more:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdx78nk7g25oArchived version:
https://archive.ph/3CavH#SolarPunkSunday #WildlifeHabitat #WildlifeCrossings #CelticRainforests #WildlifeDiversity #HabitRestoration #RareWildlife #NatureReserves
-
#Wales - #RSPB buys 'magical' 96-hectare landscape to reconnect #habitats
by Oscar Edwards, July 11, 2026
"A charity has bought a 96-hectare upland area of Gallt-y-bere in the hope of reconnecting two landscapes that are home to rare habitats and wildlife.
RSPB announced the purchase of the
'vital missing link' located by the banks of the #RiverTywi in #Carmarthenshire."The area falls between two separated parts of the bird conservation charity's Gwenffrwd-Dinas nature reserve in the Elenydd, it said.
"The move will allow conservationists to reconnect the fragmented landscape for the first time in 60 years, allowing #wildlife to move across the different areas and build stronger, more diverse and #sustainable #ecosystems."
Read more:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdx78nk7g25oArchived version:
https://archive.ph/3CavH#SolarPunkSunday #WildlifeHabitat #WildlifeCrossings #CelticRainforests #WildlifeDiversity #HabitRestoration #RareWildlife #NatureReserves
-
Rain gardens and car park revamps: £100k drainage grants to tackle flooding in Swansea and Carmarthenshire
Swansea streets in line for rain gardens
Swansea Council has scooped grants to draw up plans for rain gardens and other drainage features around Beach Street, St Helen’s Road and the Brynymor Street junction. The aim is to cut down on surface water flooding in busy city streets and stop polluted run‑off pouring into drains and streams.
Carmarthenshire car parks targeted
Carmarthenshire County Council will use its share of the cash to design drainage improvements at Llandovery Castle car park and Newcastle Emlyn car park. Both sites have long struggled with flooding, and the new schemes are intended to stop dirty water flowing into the Tywi and Teifi rivers — both protected Special Areas of Conservation.
Schools join the fight against flooding
The charity Trees for Cities has also been awarded funding to design drainage projects at three schools — St Cadocs, St Illtyds and Glyncoed — where rain gardens and other SuDS features could help keep playgrounds and classrooms dry while boosting biodiversity.
Sandfields shows what’s possible
The new funding comes hot on the heels of a rain garden already installed in Swansea’s Sandfields area, where planters and green drainage features have been used to soak up excess water and reduce flooding risk for residents. The Sandfields scheme has been hailed as a practical example of how sustainable drainage can transform urban streets — turning problem flood zones into greener, more resilient spaces.
Rain garden installed outside St Helen’s Primary School in Sandfields, Swansea, designed to reduce flooding and boost biodiversity.
(Image: Swansea Council)Backed by Welsh Government
The grants, worth between £15,000 and £30,000 each, come from the Welsh Government’s Nature and Climate Emergency Capital Programme, which also supports peatland restoration, mine clean‑ups, fisheries and national forests.
“Greener, more resilient communities”
Helen Haider, Lead Specialist Advisor at Natural Resources Wales, said:
“These grants will help the five projects move another step towards creating greener, more resilient communities. Sustainable urban drainage solutions can help us tackle both climate and nature emergencies — reducing surface water flooding, pollution and enhancing biodiversity.”
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
Rain gardens installed to tackle flooding in Swansea’s Sandfields
New green infrastructure helps soak up surface water and reduce flood risk for residents and schools.Swansea Council launches green infrastructure strategy
#BeachStreet #BrynymorStreet #Carmarthenshire #CarmarthenshireCouncil #CarmarthenshireCountyCouncil #flooding #LlandoveryCastleCarPark #NewcastleEmlynCarPark #NewcastleEmplyn #rainGarden #RiverTeifi #RiverTywi #Sandfields #StHelensRoad #Swansea #SwanseaCouncil #TreesForCities
New plan outlines how the city will use nature‑based solutions to tackle flooding, heat and biodiversity loss.