Cornel y Siaradwyr yng Ngŵyl Cymdeithas Amaethyddol Frenhinol Cymru
Attentive listeners at Speakers’ Corner at the Royal Welsh Smallholder and Garden Festival.
The depletion of fossil fuels, the effects of climate change and the consequences of diminishing soil and water resources, are among the topics being aired at next month’s Royal Welsh Smallholder and Garden Festival. They will be highlighted alongside such issues at the consequences of population growth and the threat to global food security at the event’s popular Speakers’ Corner during the weekend of the Festival on May 16 and 17.
What happens when the oil runs out will be a key question in the discussions and the subject of ‘Transition Towns’ in which local communities are actively addressing the alternatives to oil dependency will be on the agenda during the opening day’s session.
There are already 30 so-called Transition Towns in the UK, including a number in Wales, and more are joining as the idea develops. Local communities are taking the initiative for such projects by, for example, growing their own food, generating their own electricity, building houses with local materials and generally developing the skills required by a more resilient society.
How to be green in your own home is another environmental theme for Speakers’ Corner and the subject will be addressed by Peter Harpur, the Head of Research and Innovation at the Centre for Alternative Technology, Machynlleth. The centre, which inspires people to live more sustainably, was established in 1973 in a disused slate quarry. It provides help and advice on what measures can be taken to lessen your environmental impact and reduce your carbon footprint. The CAT is Europe’s leading eco-centre and is visited by 65,000 people a year.
A total of 14 sessions are planned for Speakers’ Corner – eight on the first day and six on Day 2 which will begin with a Sunday service conducted by the Ven. Elwyn John, the RWAS chaplain, and the Rev. Mark John, the Prison Service Chaplain for Wales.
One of the subjects of interest being covered in Speakers’ Corner will be the use of raised vegetable beds for self-sufficiency, a trend in gardening which is being widely adopted. This talk will be given by Hywel Jones from Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire who will also speak on growing dahlias for exhibiting on which he is an expert with 25 years experience, so much so that HRH The Prince of Wales has ordered a number of dahlia plants from Mr Jones for the garden of the Prince’s new home in Wales near Llandovery. The varieties are the tartan-coloured Edinburgh and the Lavender Lime.
One of the advantages of raised vegetable beds according to Mr Jones, is that gardeners can grow vegetables without getting their feet dirty.
“These beds can be made to any size and located anywhere, even on a patio. They are instant gardens and you don’t have to walk over them,” he said.
“One of their biggest benefits is that you can easily grow fresh vegetables at home. It’s garden to plate in minutes. People are getting more concerned about buying in supermarkets and growing your own vegetables in raised beds is easy, and guarantees their freshness and traceability. It’s 100% satisfaction.”
Other talks will be given on the art of beekeeping, sheep including the future of the sheep industry in Wales, the rise and fall of the wool industry in Wales, and trimming sheep for show, the art of preserving produce, poultry keeping, an introduction to pygmy goat keeping and a talk on keeping a traditional breed in modern times featuring Belted Galloway cattle. Visitors to the Festival who are either existing or potential smallholders are certain to find much of interest in a talk on the Sunday afternoon of the Festival on ‘Is Smallholding for you?’
The Festival takes place on the Royal Welsh showground at Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, and full details of the talks and times can be found on the society’s website www.rwas.co.uk. Entry to Speakers’ Corner is free of charge and visitors are free to enter and leave at any stage in the timetable.