Series 2
Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome back to the Pont-Y-Pandy woodlands once more. As the days passed, it became unmistakably clear something was truly wrong. Upon arrival, the signs were immediate: a contamination in the Nant-Yr-Aber river, rapidly spreading downstream. What was first a quiet suspicion quickly became local conversation, and then local media. Word travelled fast. So did the damage.
The Incident Unfolds
As I followed the unfolding situation, the truth began to surface. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) later confirmed what many of us had already feared a serious contamination event had occurred, affecting the very core of the local ecosystem. Over 100 fish were reported dead downstream, including species such as trout, grayling, bullheads, and perhaps most symbolically, the salmon a sacred image to many, and in my own view, a Druidic divine symbol of strength, memory, and the flow of life. The lifeblood of the Pont-Y-Pandy woodlands, its watercourse, had been disrupted perhaps even permanently. The deeper I looked, the heavier it became. NRW stopped short of identifying the source, leaving behind a heavy and unresolved silence. While the agency officially stated that pollution had ceased by the 2nd of September, in my own quiet observations the wound still lingered. Locals, myself included, noticed the stillness not just in the water, but in the land around it. Ecologically and socially, something had changed. The life, the energy, the rhythm of the place it had withdrawn. And I’ve come to learn that Nature, when wounded, tends to retreat into itself.
Recurring Offences
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of the story. As the weeks unfolded, new patterns emerged. On September 16th and again on October 19th, the river suffered additional pollution events. A similar milky substance entered the water both times, this time near the Asda store upstream, Thankfully, no further fish deaths were reported. But the damage to community trust—that had already been done. NRW would go on to insist that these events were unrelated. Perhaps. But for those of us who walk these trails, who know the way the river should sound, smell, and shimmer, it felt like trauma being repeated trauma to wildlife, to memory, and to spirit. Unacknowledged. Unresolved.
A Final Reflection
I didn’t set out to be an environmental whistleblower that day. I was just a person, walking the lands I’ve come to love. A man with a lens, a passion, and a deep awareness of the subtle signs nature gives when it’s in distress. But sometimes, the land calls us to be more than we expected. To bear witness. To speak. To defend. So I offer this blog as both an archive and an alarm bell. Let Nant-Yr-Aber’s pale sorrow not be buried under bureaucracy or forgetfulness. Let it be remembered, learned from, and transformed into action, into resilience, into a renewed understanding of our waterways and the sacred responsibilities we share in protecting them. So Ladies and Gentlemen, until the next time... Take care
Michael “Druid” Thomas
Lunacare Cymru | Media - Blog
