THE latest community news from Aberystwyth

Bee Friendly Scheme

WHAT does it mean to ‘bee’ friendly? Smiling? Waving? Lending a hand? Perhaps we could extend this welcome to Aberystwyth’s bright and busy bees?

A new scheme, the ‘Bee Friendly’ scheme, aims to do just that and Aberystwyth Friends of the Earth would like your help to make Aberystwyth Wales’s first Bee Friendly town.

Whilst some of us often flee at the sight or sound a bee, these hardworking insects are actually very important in sustaining the environment. As such, the Bee Friendly Scheme is trying to encourage individuals and communities to make their local surroundings a little bit more bee friendly and hopefully achieve Bee Friendly accreditation from the Welsh Government.

The scheme is open to organisations, schools, universities, places of worship and businesses, with the goal of trying to help bees and other pollinators who are sadly in decline.

Celia Evans from Aberystwyth Friends of the Earth said: “This is a great opportunity for our town to come together and make a positive change to the environment. Bees and other pollinators play a critical role in food production and so it would be fantastic if Aberystwyth could become an official bee friendly town.”

Another easy way to help is to plant bee friendly plants at home such as foxgloves and lavendar.

Lavendar’s rich purple hues are highly visible to bees and it has the added attraction of being delightfully fragrant.

Herbs such as chives and rosemary are also traditional bee favourites! You can also leave areas of your garden to grow wild, make a small ‘bee and bee’ hotel for solitary bees, provide water sources for insects and think about having pollinator friendly plants in your garden from the start of spring all the way through to autumn.

Some commonly used garden chemicals are also not great for our pollinator friends so please do try to avoid them.

You can find lots more information on the Friends of the Earth website www.foe.co.uk/bees

So whether you are a keen gardener, love nature or would simply like to help us achieve official ‘Bee Friendly’ status for Aberystwyth, please do get involved and help us get Aber buzzing!

If you would like to get involved and help us with this fun project, please contact Bleddyn Lake at [email protected] or visit us at our stall in Capel Bangor Show on Saturday, 5 August.

Mormon Pageant

A FORMER Ceredigion ambulance driver will take one of the leading roles in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints special British Pageant.

Seth Wilkins, who now lives in Greater Manchester, will perform in the British Pageant, which tells the story of how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was formed and the sacrifice and commitment of people who helped set up the church.

Seth’s father Victor will making the journey to Chorley for the British Pageant, which runs between Tuesday, 1 August and Saturday, 5 August, and Tuesday, 8 August and Saturday, 12 August.

Victor said he was looking forward to the show, saying it is a huge event for people of the Mormon faith.

He said: “Seth has performed in the pageant before. There’s a core team of people who come over from the United States and audition them all.

“He used to take part in amateur dramatics and is now a history teacher.

“In the church he was always involved in shows and performed. He usually acts a couple of parts and this time he’s one of the main parts.

“I’m going on the Grand Finale night. They’re all brilliant though with the level of rehearsal they do.” Seth grew up in the Aberystwyth area, with the family attending the church in Aberystwyth, with Seth working as an ambulance driver in Ceredigion for a number of years before moving away and becoming a teacher.

Victor said the pageant would compare favourably to West End shows. He said: “It’s fabulous. I’ve seen all the London shows, such as Les Miserables, and I get so excited seeing Seth perform. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Pageant President Peter Trebilcock said the pageant was performed from volunteers across the UK.

He said: “The British Pageant tells the true story of thousands of people from the British Isles who heard a message of hope preached by missionaries from America over a century and a half ago.

“It tells their story through material extracted from their letters and journals of how they embraced their new faith and followed it, often at the cost of much personal sacrifice.”

Ramblers

THE Berwyn Mountains was the destination on Saturday, 22 July, for seven members of the Aber Group and two from the Meirionethshire Group. These nine intrepid walkers, including the leaders Haydn Foulkes and Timothy Cutts, started from the car park in Llandrillo, Denbighshire, turned left by the bridge then right, crossing the B4401 road, and ascended a surfaced lane going east.

Leaving the lane the climb continued on a right of way that became less steep further on leading to moorlands. Having crossed a couple of fords we forked south towards Moel Ty-uchaf.

A tea break just shy of Moel Pearce afforded good views of surrounding areas and other mountains in north Wales.

They followed a traverse path along the slopes to Bwlch Maen Gwynedd from where there is a clear route, albeit steep in parts, to Cadair Bronwen, helped by timber sleepers laid across bogs. Lunch was enjoyed on Cadair Bronwen.

Returning to Bwlch Maen Gwynedd we ascended the ridge to Cadair Berwyn and enjoyed more good views en route.

At the cairn on Cadair Berwyn they met the Cheshire Ramblers Group who they knew were walking in the area. Elsewhere we met other walkers too.

From Cadair Berwyn we descended a permissive path which was generally easy to follow except in the squelchy marshy ground below the mountain where members with GPS devices helped find the way.

After a break and the challenge of crossing two streams we joined a right of way leading to a surfaced lane. Having been dry all day dark clouds threatened near the end but we completed the 10-and-a-half-mile walk by returning to Llandrillo before the rain.

Art Exhibition

THE Picturemakers, a collective of visual artists based in mid Wales, have invited people to have a look at their ongoing summer art exhibition being held in the Dining Room Gallery at Bronglais Hospital.

Cambrian Floral Society

TO conclude the Cambrian Floral Society’s programme for the summer on Wednesday, 5 July, members enjoyed a warm and sunny afternoon exploring the garden of The Old Vicarage at Llangeler.

This flower arranger’s gem was created in 1993 by Mr and Mrs J C Harcourt.

The garden is an interesting collection of unusual herbaceous plants which is an ever changing scene. Before leaving for home they were served a delicious homemade afternoon tea on the lawn.

The chairman thanked Mr and Mrs Harcourt for their splendid welcome and for sharing their magnificent garden with us that afternoon.

The society also felt honoured this month as John James and Marian Weston were asked to arrange flowers for HRH Prince Charles’s visit on 10 July to open Volac International’s new biomass plant at Felinfach. Their choice of flowers for this special occasion which filled the marquee with the scents of summer was very much appreciated by all who attended.

The autumn programme will re-commence in September - details will appear later.

If you’re a member of a club, society or group, send your news to [email protected]