{"id":33924,"date":"2019-10-14T09:12:25","date_gmt":"2019-10-14T08:12:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jacothenorth.net\/blog\/?p=33924"},"modified":"2019-10-14T09:44:27","modified_gmt":"2019-10-14T08:44:27","slug":"summit-to-sea-a-guest-post-by-jon-coles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jacothenorth.net\/blog\/summit-to-sea-a-guest-post-by-jon-coles\/","title":{"rendered":"Summit to Sea: a guest post by Jon Coles"},"content":{"rendered":"

PLEASE APPRECIATE THAT I GET SENT MORE <\/b><\/span>INFORMATION AND LEADS THAN I CAN USE. I TRY TO RESPOND TO EVERYONE WHO CONTACTS ME BUT I CANNOT POSSIBLY USE EVERY BIT OF INFORMATION <\/b>I’M<\/b><\/span><\/span> SENT. DIOLCH YN FAWR<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2666<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>This post is by Jon Coles, the Herald<\/a>‘s Chief Writer, who has written about farming and rural affairs every week since the papers’ launch.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2666<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A CONTROVERSIAL project in Mid Wales faces opposition from local farmers and lost the support of a key local partner.<\/p>\n

Summit to Sea\u2019s website<\/a> says: \u201cThe project will bring together one continuous, nature-rich area, stretching from the Pumlumon massif \u2013 the highest area in mid-Wales \u2013 down through wooded valleys to the Dyfi Estuary and out into Cardigan Bay. Within five years it will comprise at least 10,000 hectares of land and 28,400 hectares of sea.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Pumlumon. Click to enlarge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The project is seen as a pilot for similar projects being eyed in rural areas of Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire and partly reflects the Welsh Government’s controversial plans for favouring nebulous ‘public goods’ over food production.<\/p>\n

\u25ca<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

‘NO TO REWILDING’<\/p>\n

Drive towards Machynlleth from Talybont and signs in the roadside verges show opposition to the project growing the further north you go. Most say: \u2018No to Rewilding\u2019. There are few signs of any overt support.<\/p>\n

A meeting of 150 local farmers in Talybont<\/a> earlier this year rejected the project.
\nJust outside Machynlleth a particularly large sign rejecting rewilding underlines the farmers’ opposition.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Machynlleth. Click to enlarge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once a market town for the livestock and wool trade, Machynlleth is now a prosperous exclave of bohemian incomers and boutique shopping in mid-Wales. The town’s centre supports a large Aga showroom, an old-fashioned cobbler making hand-made shoes, a variety of artisanal boutiques, antique shops, and no banks.<\/p>\n

It is there that the ideas underpinning rewilding in the UK were, if not born, then first brought to the wider public’s attention.<\/p>\n

George Monbiot is a trenchant critic of modern farming and has opined at length on what he claims is the adverse impact of sheep farming on the Welsh upland landscape. Mr Monbiot formerly resided near Machynlleth before returning to live in his native Oxfordshire some years ago.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Machynlleth, looking down Maengwyn Street to the A487 and the clock tower. Click to enlarge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In his book Fera<\/em>l<\/a>, a seminal text for the rewilding movement in the UK, George Monbiot says: \u201cRewilding, to me, is about resisting the urge to control nature and allowing it to find its own way.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Rewilding Britain<\/a> is the principal partner for the Summit to Sea project.
\nThe chief executive of Rewilding Britain is Rebecca Wrigley. Ms Wrigley is the partner of journalist and author George Monbiot.<\/p>\n