Ladies & Gentlemen, welcome back once more to this amazing adventure in the Pont-Y-Pandy woodlands. Today marks a very special chapter the final part of Series 2 of Pont-Y-Pandy Woodlands: Rewilding – The Full Untold Story. This series has uncovered so many aspects of change both ecological and social. It’s been eye-opening to say the least, and I say that not only as a researcher and photographer but as someone who has walked every twist and turn of this landscape for years. This entry is also a testament to the incredible efforts of all the services and organisations that play a role in protecting and restoring the world we live in. Through their unique contributions, we've seen what can happen when care, coordination, and community truly come together. A Unified Effort: Local Heroes in Action Throughout this project, the importance of collaboration became crystal clear. The results weren’t the work of one person or one organisation they were the combined magic of many: Lunacare Cymr

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome back again to this unfolding story of the Pont-Y-Pandy woodlands. Today’s chapter takes us into something often overlooked but deeply important the role of ferns in ecological restoration, and the humble strength these ancient plants hold. This entry isn’t just about observation. It’s about experimentation. About resilience. And about the slow, steady return of life through methods grounded in nature’s own rhythm. When I first began this venture, I found it difficult to process what I was seeing. Much of the landscape had been tainted and tarnished by poor soil quality the kind of exhaustion you can’t always see at first glance, but feel beneath your boots. I realised early on that to heal this ground, I’d need more than just theory. I’d need the right plant, the right approach, and the patience to listen. FERNS: The Unsung Ally Out in the wild, you’ll find a variety of ferns each with their own unique traits. Some grow larger and broader, like fan ferns,

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome once more to the Pont-Y-Pandy woodlands my familiar ground, and perhaps now, at long last, a shared ground for change. This blog marks a turning point. After almost four years without any direct physical action in the woodlands, and over seven years since I began my very first observations here, something shifted something hopeful. This entry is about that shift. About a moment where Linc Cymru, a housing association whose presence surrounds much of this landscape, came to the table. Or rather, to the trees. A Meeting Among the Undergrowth The visit took place inside the very heart of the woodlands. I had the opportunity to meet face-to-face with members of the Linc Cymru team, right where it all began within a landscape I’ve walked in solitude for years. We weren’t meeting in a boardroom. We were standing among branches, beside the water, in the thick of the land’s memory. They came out to see it themselves, to walk with me, to stand in the places I’ve st

Ladies and Gentlemen, I welcome you back once more, as my journey continued along the winding lifeblood of the Nant-Yr-Aber this time behind the familiar outlines of Gallagher Retail Park in Caerphilly. The stretch began quietly enough. The river here narrows, hugged close by concrete walls and forgotten fencing, its flow weaving behind the Aldi store where very few people ever bother to look. But I did. And I stepped into the water once more unsure, but compelled. A Rising Reality I hadn’t walked far when things changed. The air shifted, and the river rose. Within a few short hours, what had been passable terrain had become deeply unstable. The water levels surged, rising rapidly and with force. I had to exit the river sooner than expected not because I wanted to but because the risk grew too sharp to ignore. That was the first-hand moment I realised just how volatile these waterways have become. We often speak of change in theory slow shifts in levels or weather but this wasn’t theor

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome back once more to the quiet thrum of the Pont-Y-Pandy woodlands. This entry takes me downstream along a place I’ve walked before but never quite like this. The focus this time was the Nant-Yr-Aber, starting at the passover beneath the A469 in Caerphilly. And it was there, beneath the drone of passing cars, that I found something not just damaged but deeply changed. Where the River Shows Its Scars As I stepped into the shallow course, it was immediately clear how fragile the waterway had become. Visual damage from erosion was evident, carved into the banks like old wounds reopened. And scattered throughout the streambed was a thick body of debris fallen branches, broken fencing, plastic waste all tangled in the current, some half-buried, some drifting, and all slowing the river’s natural rhythm. Exploring the channel wasn’t easy. In fact, it was hazardous. I had to move with care, feeling each step before taking it, slowly navigating through slippery stone

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 pe