State of Nature Wales 2016

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Picture this: a new day dawns and you wake up ready for the challenges ahead. However, as you eat your breakfast you don’t hear the usual songs from your favourite birds as they hum their morning melody. As you head outside on your lunch break, you can’t go to your local park and relax in the sun, as it’s been swallowed up by another concrete jungle. And as you head home of an evening, the garden you normally come back to is no longer blooming beautifully. 

I’m not sure about you, but this is quite a worrying picture. Yes, it may be a drastic one, but if we don’t do something about the state of the natural world around us, eventually this is where we’re heading.

If you cast your minds back to 2013 you may remember the launch of the groundbreaking State of Nature Report. This was a collaboration between 25 UK conservation and research organisations to create a stock take of our native wildlife. During the report’s launch here in Wales, we were privileged to witness Iolo Williams deliver an incredibly powerful and passionate speech, in which he appealed to the people of Wales to take urgent steps to restore nature.

Three years on we are now launching the State of Nature Wales 2016 report. The partnership has since grown to over 50 organisations across the UK, and with such political change taking place, there has never been a more important time for us to unite to protect the fantastic wildlife around us – as sadly one in 14 species in Wales is now extinct or heading that way.

Going slightly left field, and bringing a splash of artistic flare to a scientific report, State of Nature Wales 2016 will be launched at a special public event on the 21 of September in Cardiff, all free of charge. A host of musicians, poets, graffiti artists and circus acts will bring nature’s most treasured species to life - brining a taste of London’s charismatic Camden Market to Cardiff.

Above, left to right: Martin Daws, Aneirin Karadog, Millimagic & Organised Kaos

We’ll have special live poetry by Welsh poets Martin Daws (Young People’s Laureate for Wales 2013-2016), Aneirin Karadog (2016 National Eisteddfod’s chaired bard) and rapper Ed Holden (aka Mr Phormula), who will each give their own personal take on Wales’ unique wildlife.

Proving Wales is truly the land of song will be talented musician Ellie Makes Music who will perform a special repertoire of songs. She will be joined by some life sized members of the crow family, the chough – all courtesy of circus entertainers, Organised Kaos. The creativity doesn’t stop there as graffiti artist, Millimagic, will intertwine nature and art to compose some important messages about nature in Wales

Above, left to right: Ed Holden & Ellie Makes Music

Over the coming week communities, schools and you, the public, will also get the opportunity to describe in your own words ‘what nature means to you’. You’ll be able to write your own personal messages on a number of large canvases which will be travelling around the country – all illustrating some of Wales’ most threatened species. The locations include:

Nature is one of our greatest gifts and it saddens us to think that there is less wildlife today to inspire children in years to come. We don’t want them to end up living in a world where the dark picture above comes true. However, we’re renowned as a passionate nation in Wales and by working together we can use that passion to turn the fortunes of our wildlife around - making the future so much brighter for our future generations.

You can follow all the excitement from the State of Nature Wales launch live on Twitter @RSPBCymru and Facebook at RSPBCymru, using #StateOfNature / #SefyllfaBydNatur.

The launch will take place on Wednesday 21 September on The Hayes in Cardiff. Performances will take place between 12-2pm and again at 5-7pm. We look forward to seeing you there!

Above: sand lizard, lesser horseshoe bat & otter - all under threat in Wales