Hi, I’m Lacie, a youth leader with Youth Cymru! I am also a young carer with WCD Young Carers. I am involved in Morris dancing and attend College Cambria full-time, all while completing a Level 2 youth work qualification with Youth Cymru.
I joined Youth Cymru this week down to South Wales; I was looking forward to the two events they had planned but didn’t know what to expect on our trip to Pen-Pont. The purpose of attending the climate action trip was to visit and learn about Action for Conservation and the work they do on the site and with young people. This was all made possible and funded by the Energy Saving Trust and as part of Youth Cymru’s Climate Conversations Events with the Welsh Government.
When I arrived at Pen-Pont, as soon as I got there, I could already see there was a lot of culture and history throughout the site, through the different buildings. There was still a lot of the old history and architecture on the road leading up to the main building. It was a nice dry day, with nature landscapes. It felt like I was in a natural environment I was very surprised I still had a phone signal!
We met with Molly on arrival; they are amazing, and we all loved them! Molly explained everything in a professional manner but ensured it was in a language I, as a young person, understood. Going there, I could understand it both as a youth worker and as a young person, understanding the benefits of being involved and understanding the work they do at pen-Pont.
On our visit, we had a taste of everything they have to offer. All the staff we met were experts in their field of work! This ranged from history mapping and farming to residentials, youth rangers, and the land library. Action for Conservation has a tree nursery, gardening, and a farm shop, habitat restoration, species monitoring, and event water sampling from the river running through the 2000 acres of land!
My favourite experience was having the opportunity to hold a new baby lamb, see the cows, and have reflection time in the middle of a field on our own, taking in the surroundings. It was amazing to observe different wildlife and learn about how the land are aiming to reintroduce different wildlife to support the land, upkeep and ecosystem, like reintroducing beavers, otters and a special species of newt!
Action for Conversation minimise the land impact in different ways some include using cows instead of sheep for grazing, having a maximum number of people on residentials and having no dig gardening to preserve the land and micronutrients in the sold – ensuring their 5-year plan outcoming are achieved. I learnt to appreciate the land we live on after learning about all the work and concertation yesterday. I learnt about what affects the land and what can be done to protect it. I learnt farmers/ gardeners graft trees! One key take away was the land map of the site, showing the past history of what wildlife use to be there, present wildlife and ecosystems and future mapping, what they want to do in their 5 year plan (which is a lot of amazing things!).
I loved it. While I was there, it felt like nothing else mattered in the world; it was just me and nature chilling. Cannot wait to visit again – thank you!