TV presenter stars in new video in aid of nature charity

Amelia Jones  

Welsh nature presenter Iolo Williams has shared his hopes for Wales’ largest rewilding project as cattle return to the 1,195-acre landscape.

Williams, who is best known his BBC and S4C nature programmes, shared his thoughts in the new social media video from rewilding charity Tir Nature.

An ambassador for the charity, he has supported their crowdfunders for a number of years. In the video, he speaks about the charity letting cattle roam the land, and working with local farmers.

The 1,195-acre site, in the Cwm Doethïe area of the Cambrian Mountains, was secured by Tir Natur earlier this year and represents Wales’s largest rewilding project. The charity says the area is roughly the equivalent of 121 Principality Stadiums.

The landscape includes rivers, peatland and areas of ancient woodland, offering opportunities to restore habitats, improve biodiversity and create greater connectivity for wildlife.

Tir Natur also hopes that restoring the land will bring wider environmental benefits, including cleaner water, healthier soils, increased carbon storage and reduced flood risk for areas further downstream.

The return of cattle is an important part of Tir Natur’s wider approach to rewilding, with grazing animals playing a key role in shaping habitats and creating a more diverse landscape.

But the project is not about separating nature from farming. Tir Natur says working alongside farmers and rural communities is central to its vision, demonstrating how agriculture and nature recovery can work together.

In the video, he says: “My name is Iolo Williams, and I’m proud to say that I am an ambassador for Tir Nature.

“Now, Tir Nature is the only charity in Wales that deals solely with rewilding. And I’m stood on Tir Nature’s land.

“This is Cwm Doethuiae. And the land, 1,200 acres in all, is between the Doethuiae, Avon Doethuiae, Doethuiae River, and Avon Camdhor over on the far side. Now, we’ve already got animals on the hill.

“It’s grazed by ponies, and it’s grazed by cattle. And those will help to increase the biodiversity, will help the wildlife. And I’m also pleased to say that we are involving local people, which is a key part of all of this.

“We have a local farmer looking after his cattle on our hill. And in future, we hope to expand that work to make it even better. Now, we’ve bought the land, but we still need money to pay back a loan and to carry out the management.

“So if you can help, please do. But we also need volunteers. So get in touch with Tir Nature.”

The charity hopes Cwm Doethïe will become a working example of what large-scale nature recovery could look like in Wales, while providing a blueprint that could be replicated elsewhere.

You can support the charity here.

---

Get more trusted Welsh news

Choose Nation.Cymru as a preferred source in Google News to see more of our journalism.