Feature: Working for Snowdonia: the Snowdonia Society
14/04/2003

There are a bunch of people who are not content just to go for a walk in Snowdonia, but who enjoy rolling up their sleeves and getting their hands dirty for the benefit of the National Park and who also voice an opinion whenever necessary.

The Snowdonia Society, established in 1968, is a charitable organisation, a group of people committed to protecting the Snowdonia National Park. It is independent from the National Park Authority, whose work it watches carefully, sometimes supporting and sometimes criticising their plans.

The Society also works closely with the Countryside Council for Wales, the National Trust, the local community and other bodies to ensure that the beauty and diversity of the landscape, wildlife and culture of Snowdonia remains for future generations to enjoy. It has approximately 2,700 members.

The Society has been part of successful campaigns to protect Snowdonia from schemes which would have scarred the landscape, harmed its wildlife or eroded its special character. These included a new highway affecting broad-leaved woodland and meadows near Betws y Coed, an opencast quarry at Rhosydd near Cnicht, a bypass through the oak woodland of Coed Bryn Meurig near Bethesda, and a bypass through beautiful countryside around Llanrwst.

Recently key areas of the Society's policy work have been the decommissioning of Trawsfynydd nuclear power station, the Snowdonia Green Key scheme and the plans for a makeover of the building on Snowdon's summit.

The Society is based at Ty Hyll, the famous Ugly House, between Capel Curig and Betws y Coed on the A5 trunk road, which is open to the public from Easter to October. The unusual, magical cottage is well worth a visit: built with boulders weighing several tons, and said to be a “House of one night”, surrounded by a most beautiful cottage garden that is managed especially for the benefit of wildlife.

The Society holds a number of regular events each year that aim to maintain or enhance the landscape and wildlife of Snowdonia, and raise awareness of the value of the area for locals and visitors alike:

· It is famous for its programme of monthly Clear Up Days, when members and volunteers take practical action to clear up areas which have been marred by surface rubbish and waste. These can include river and beach cleans as well as filling a skip from a popular fly tipping site.

· With the increase in numbers of walkers who enjoy exploring the paths in Snowdonia, erosion is naturally increasing. The Society organises regular Footpath Restoration Work Days to restore and improve the path from Capel Curig to Llyn Crafnant.

· The Society's diary includes regular guided walks for members and their friends as well as talks by people who live and/or work in the National Park.

· You have got a chance to purchase some of the garden's treasures at the annual Plant Fair at Ty Hyll. This year it will be on Saturday, 25th May.

· There will be a Painters' Challenge at Ty Hyll on Saturday, 21st June 2003: an invitation for amateur painters to spend the day in the Ty Hyll gardens, using any medium to paint a masterpiece. Prize to be won!

· The Society organises an annual Dry Stone Walling Competition in order to support this old and valuable craft. Dry stone walls provide not just a stock proof barrier for the farmer, but also a habitat for lichen and small mammals, shelter for farm animals, and, for those who enjoy the beauty of the landscape, a superb characteristic feature of the Snowdonia landscape. This year's Competition will be held on Saturday, 26th July.

· The Society organises a biennial Farming and Landscape Award, in order to provide due recognition for those farmers who have carried out important conservation work. The winning farms are living proofs that commercial farming and conservation can go hand in hand. The next competition will be held in the summer of 2004.

The Society is always pleased to welcome anyone in its midst who is interested in its practical work, who wants to have an influence on policies or just enjoys spending their leisure time out in the mountains.

Marika Fusser, Cymdeithas Eryri/Snowdonia Society

For further information, contact the Snowdonia Society on 01690-720287 or visit their website: www.snowdonia-society.org.uk.

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