Y Maes @ Conwy - we're on the starting grid!

Next week (19 February) sees the start of the next stage of our Conwy Connections project, the construction of Y Maes.  This is the area between the Visitor Centre and the Coffee Shop and will become a much more interesting and fun place to spend time.  There are more details below, but the main thing to know is that we will be open throughout the building project, this part of which should finish in early April.  There will be no access to the works area, of course, but access to the trails will remain open throughout - please follow on-site directions.

What is happening?
Y Maes will become the 'village square', a meeting hub on the reserve. It'll be a place to spend time with friends, enjoying the scenery and the reserve's wildlife. There will be a elevated viewpoint from which you'll get a new view of the reserve, there'll be plenty of seating, and interesting spaces for children to explore.

The contractors, Wright Landscapes, will be doing the earthforming and laying all the surfaces, including the picnic area, events zone, viewing mound, amphitheatre, secret tunnel and all the footpaths and steps.  They will also be preparing the ground for the wild flower area and the places where play equipment will be added.  This work should be complete by early April and we will open some of Y Maes shortly afterwards.

Then what happens?
The play equipment will be installed in the spring, but we don't yet have a date confirmed for this, so keep visiting this blog for updates.  Initially, the area will look somewhat bare, but we will be planting it up later.  As any gardener knows, bare-rooted stock has to be planted during the winter, so it will be a while before all this work is completed.  It will also take a while for the grass to grow, so there will be parts that you won't be able to walk on until either late summer, or possibly 2014. depending on how it grows.

What about Tegi?
Regular visitors will know about Tegi, our earth monster created from the soil removed from the bank by the Coffee Shop.  The contractors will be sorting out the drainage around Tegi and our Wildlife Explorer group will be sowing his coat of grass in March, so we hope he'll be ready for younger visitors to explore in the summer.

And the new Jubilee Nature Observatory?
We had some problems with the foundations for the new building, which is what comes from the reserve being three million tonnes of estuarine silt!  We had to go back to the drawing board, but we do now have a plan, and the foundations will be installed before Easter.  The main construction will take place between Easter and the middle of June.

So, after what seems like an age, we're almost ready to go on the centrepiece of the project, and it's very exciting!  We also hope to have news on the remaining parts of the project - a new view point over the Deep Lagoon, a new artwork for the entrance and improvements to the Tal-y-fan Hide - over the coming weeks.  Keep an eye on the blog and Twitter as the project unfolds. 

Conwy Connections is an initiative part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government and is a component element of the Countryside Council for Wales' Communities and Nature strategic project.  RSPB Cymru would also like to thank those whose donations support RSPB Conwy nature reserve and visitor facilities, including The Crown Estate, Cemlyn Jones Trust, Environment Wales, Tesco Plc, Conwy Town Council and the RSPB Conwy Support Group.