After 18 years of service, RSPB Lake Vyrnwy farm manager Gwynfor Evans (known locally as Gwyn) is retiring and stepping down. Gwyn became manager of Tŷ-Llwyd Farm in Powys back in 1996, and since then he has transformed the farm into a showcase of how wildlife friendly farming can make successful business sense.
After leaving school at 15 years of age Gwyn went straight into farming in the Pen y Bont Fawr area. The family farm, being only 20 acres, wasn’t large enough to employ Gwyn as well as his father, so he found daily work helping other local farmers. Fast forward 30 years to 1991, when Gwyn moved with his family from Pen y Bont Fawr to Tyn y Garreg Farm in Llanwddyn. Never one to say no to a challenge, he showed his grit by being the only farmer willing to accept a contract from RSPB Cymru to cut heather, and bale it on the moors above Lake Vyrnwy, showing the perseverance and open mindedness that has been his strength ever since.
Managing 11,500 acres of upland with 3,200 Welsh mountain sheep and 120 Welsh Black cattle is not for the faint hearted, and during his tenure Gwyn has achieved a lot. From re-designing the farm to manage pollution from stock in a more environmentally aware way, improving the land to benefit its water catchment status in partnership with owners Severn Trent Water, to greatly improving the quality of the stock and achieving Organic status for the farm in 2000, Gwyn’s drive and ambition for the farm has been endless.
Gwyn’s son - Huw Evans – will be taking over as new farm manager as of July this year. Gwyn will now spend the next few months handing over responsibility to Huw until the end of March 2015. For more information about RSPB Lake Vyrnwy and the farm please go to www.rspb.org.uk/lakevyrnwy
Image - Gwyn Evans