Rhiwbina Living
Summer 2023 issue of Rhiwbina Living, the award-winning magazine for Rhiwbina. Summer 2023 issue of Rhiwbina Living, the award-winning magazine for Rhiwbina.
news Calls for more 'Tree Guardian's to help Cardiff's trees Heol Llanishen Fach Park reopens following major refurbishment An army of willing volunteers has planted more than 50,000 new trees in Cardiff in the past two years as part of the ‘Coed Caerdydd' mass tree-planting programme in the city. The council-led project, which aims to support biodiversity and increase tree canopy coverage in the city from 18.9% to 25%, was launched in 2021. But pushing on from this success, Cardiff Council are asking more residents to join their team of existing ‘Tree Guardians'. The aim is to help provide water for the new trees, and also look after the thousands that line the city's streets. Coed Caerdydd Project Manager Chris Engel said: "You can generally spot when a tree is dehydrated by looking at its leaves - if they're starting to wilt, their leaves are yellowing, or they're losing leaves, then that's a sure sign they need some water. "Trees will always benefit from a drop of water every day - the larger ones we've planted need more - but really anything will help, especially early in the morning or in the evening once the temperature has dropped." 4 The play area at Heol Llanishen Fach officially re-opened to the public in June, following an extensive refurbishment. Designed around an oak theme, the play area now includes a toddler and a junior play area, all aimed at encouraging imaginative play, climbing, education, and physical activity. Reservoirs reopen Llanishen and Lisvane Reservoirs have reopened following seven years of work to bring them back into operational use. The new venues boasts a visitors' hub, watersport activities, footpaths and bird hides. The site first came under threat in the early 2000s when Western Power Distribution tried to drain the water from the reservoir to build houses. Since 2016, Welsh Water has worked with Reservoir Action Group, Cardiff Council & Cardiff & Vale University Health Board and a range of organisations to offer activities to benefit people’s own health, while also helping enhance the site’s environment and biodiversity. Bridge lessons Rhiwbina Bridge Club is planning to give lessons to complete beginners. The classic card game is played in the village by club members, offering players friendship and the chance to keep their minds active. If you'd like more information, please contact Roger on 07811 509490 or e-mail: roger.wright100@talk21.com. Cabinet Member for Culture, Parks and Events, Cllr Jennifer Burke, told the press: “The play area at Heol Llanishen Fach is the latest facility to benefit from our ongoing programme of investment in parks and play areas across Cardiff and will be another fantastic facility for local families to enjoy.” Rhiwbina Society programme Following a recent run of interesting talks, the Rhiwbina Society has announced its programme of meetings for the rest of the year. It runs as follows: 19 September: Iron and Steel in South Wales – Bob Jones 17 October: Newport Wetlands: A Hidden Gem - Daniel Suge of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) 21 November: An introduction to the South Wales Metro programme: updates for Rhiwbina, the Coryton and Rhymney line. Jessica Clement 12 December: Christmas quiz with nibbles and drinks. Meetings are held in the Canolfan Beulah starting at 7.30 pm. For further information, please visit therhiwbinasociety.org, or find them on Twitter at @Rhiwbina_Soc or their Facebook page. You can also phone 07811 509490. The Society works to preserve the village atmosphere for which Rhiwbina is famed, and to foster a sense of community and civic pride.
letters Your letters WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! We love to hear what you've been up to so send us your letters and photos! We'll do our best to print them all. editor@livingmags.co.uk The Boss My name is Atticus, I’m a Goldfinch and this is my story. I’ve lived all my life in the old oak tree on the Rhiwbina line. To humans, he was just another oak tree but to us birds, and the bats who lived there, he was ‘The Boss’. He was a pedunculate, a common oak, which ‘takes 300 years to grow, 300 years to live and 300 years to die’. The Boss was about 100 years old, in the prime of his youth and truly magnificent. Even before global warming, nobody in their right mind would bring any harm to such a fine living specimen and example of everything that’s good about God’s world. The Boss provided safety and shelter for a murder of Crows, an unkindness of Ravens, a parliament of Rooks and a conventicle of Magpies. The clattering of Jackdaws spent their days down in the village but returned home every night to roost. Throughout the summer, the cauldron of bats that lived with us could be seen flying together from dusk onwards as they set out to catch their suppers. The Boss knew all of us since we were eggs, and all our families for generations and, night after night, he regaled us with stories of how life had been ‘back in the good old days’. We felt safe in his boughs. There were other trees, Ash and Sycamore, but none felt like our mighty Oak. The Boss was everything to us and he had time for us all. We built our nests in The Boss, raised our chicks, sheltered from the worst of storms and he provided the bugs we needed to feed our young, all hidden in the ivy he allowed to grow around his magnificent form. The Boss stood overlooking our village for almost 100 years. He was older than most of the human inhabitants, and he felt he knew all of them as for so long he’d watched them going about their daily lives. He’d seen the worst of winters and the best of summers. Most years he saw snow settling on the mountain, the twinkle of the pretty Christmas lights from the village and the first Swallows arriving for summer. He’d seen the Prairie tank steam engine, the old late night railway specials from Ninian Park, today’s diesel trains and he couldn’t wait for the new electric powered trains. Life went on day after day, as it always had until, one incredible night in mid-June. Everyone spent that evening just like any other. The sun had set and the chicks were tucked up in their nests. Tod the Fox wandered past on his way to search for food for his cubs. Roland the Rat made his way over the weeds that engulf the railway track and under the ancient Hedera helix covered bridge, neglected for years, but somehow made charming by the hanging ivy fronds which hit the trains as they passed under. Then, it happened. A gang of humans arrived, loud and brightly coloured, hauling their machines. The still of the urban country night was shattered by the sound and feel of death and destruction. Sub-contractors were carrying out orders to raze to the ground anything and everything ‘within 8–10 metres of the track’. The thunderous noise of the murderous chainsaws terrified us all. Those who could fly, us birds and the bats, took to the wing and flew for our lives, no option but to leave behind us our families and loved ones. Humans on the bridge pleaded for the Boss’s life. The evidence of bats living in his mighty boughs was briefly discussed, and dismissed, by his assailants. The Boss would not have wanted us to try to describe his pain and suffering as humans ripped him apart, but he would have wanted us to pose questions. He stood for 100 years, regal and serene, and reasonably expected to do so for the next 800 years. Humans decided to upgrade the track for electric trains, and The Boss became a ‘fire hazard’, because cost-saving dictated an unsightly overhead cable system rather than a single track-level live rail. ‘Health and safety’ masks costsaving as the real issue. Trees are the largest plants on earth and they provide more than just oxygen to humans. They ensure the stability of the soil that other plants grow in, and provide shelter and food for animals and us birds, and help control weather patterns through natural aspiration. Therefore, trees mean life, literally, for all of us, not just humans. Human research shows that old oaks will increase their C02 absorption by up to a third to meet the increasing C02 levels. The Boss can’t because he’s dead; humans killed him and that’s just not right. To quote the other Atticus Finch, in To Kill a Mockingbird, ‘the one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience’. Albert Ross, Cardiff 5
- Page 1 and 2: News | People | Features | History
- Page 3: Local green spaces recognised by Ke
- Page 7 and 8: schools and top before cooking with
- Page 9 and 10: The Art Workshop Known for its vibr
- Page 11 and 12: overall lifted feeling of happiness
- Page 13 and 14: outdoors Common goby The common gob
- Page 15 and 16: THE MAZDA MX-5 REDISCOVER THE ICON.
- Page 17 and 18: most of the siege. No one knew we w
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- Page 25 and 26: 5 6 summer 7 5. Wireless charger Th
- Page 27 and 28: MICHELLE MARSHALL SALON HAIR - BEAU
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- Page 31: They help our mental health It's li
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- Page 36 and 37: Roman Wales South Wales was a great
- Page 38 and 39: THE PICNIC A basket of joy. An afte
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- Page 42 and 43: Magpie Over a cup of tea in his gar
- Page 44 and 45: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Helpi
- Page 46 and 47: summer soups Soups aren't just for
- Page 48: www.cardiffwindows.com
news<br />
Calls for more<br />
'Tree Guardian's<br />
to help Cardiff's<br />
trees<br />
Heol Llanishen Fach Park reopens<br />
following major refurbishment<br />
An army of willing volunteers<br />
has planted more than 50,000<br />
new trees in Cardiff in the past<br />
two years as part of the ‘Coed<br />
Caerdydd' mass tree-planting<br />
programme in the city.<br />
The council-led project,<br />
which aims to support<br />
biodiversity and increase<br />
tree canopy coverage in the<br />
city from 18.9% to 25%, was<br />
launched in 2021.<br />
But pushing on from this<br />
success, Cardiff Council are<br />
asking more residents to join<br />
their team of existing ‘Tree<br />
Guardians'. The aim is to help<br />
provide water for the new<br />
trees, and also look after the<br />
thousands that line the city's<br />
streets.<br />
Coed Caerdydd Project<br />
Manager Chris Engel said:<br />
"You can generally spot<br />
when a tree is dehydrated by<br />
looking at its leaves - if they're<br />
starting to wilt, their leaves are<br />
yellowing, or they're losing<br />
leaves, then that's a sure sign<br />
they need some water.<br />
"Trees will always benefit<br />
from a drop of water every<br />
day - the larger ones we've<br />
planted need more - but really<br />
anything will help, especially<br />
early in the morning or in the<br />
evening once the temperature<br />
has dropped."<br />
4<br />
The play area at Heol Llanishen Fach<br />
officially re-opened to the public<br />
in June, following an extensive<br />
refurbishment.<br />
Designed around an oak theme,<br />
the play area now includes a toddler<br />
and a junior play area, all aimed<br />
at encouraging imaginative play,<br />
climbing, education, and physical<br />
activity.<br />
Reservoirs reopen<br />
Llanishen and Lisvane Reservoirs<br />
have reopened following seven<br />
years of work to bring them back into<br />
operational use.<br />
The new venues boasts a visitors'<br />
hub, watersport activities, footpaths<br />
and bird hides.<br />
The site first came under threat in<br />
the early 2000s when Western Power<br />
Distribution tried to drain the water<br />
from the reservoir to build houses.<br />
Since 2016, Welsh Water has<br />
worked with Reservoir Action Group,<br />
Cardiff Council & Cardiff & Vale<br />
University Health Board and a range<br />
of organisations to offer activities to<br />
benefit people’s own health, while<br />
also helping enhance the site’s<br />
environment and biodiversity.<br />
Bridge lessons<br />
<strong>Rhiwbina</strong> Bridge Club is planning to<br />
give lessons to complete beginners.<br />
The classic card game is played in<br />
the village by club members, offering<br />
players friendship and the chance to<br />
keep their minds active.<br />
If you'd like more information, please<br />
contact Roger on 07811 509490 or<br />
e-mail: roger.wright100@talk21.com.<br />
Cabinet Member for Culture, Parks<br />
and Events, Cllr Jennifer Burke, told<br />
the press:<br />
“The play area at Heol Llanishen<br />
Fach is the latest facility to benefit<br />
from our ongoing programme of<br />
investment in parks and play areas<br />
across Cardiff and will be another<br />
fantastic facility for local families to<br />
enjoy.”<br />
<strong>Rhiwbina</strong> Society<br />
programme<br />
Following a recent run of interesting<br />
talks, the <strong>Rhiwbina</strong> Society has<br />
announced its programme of<br />
meetings for the rest of the year. It<br />
runs as follows:<br />
19 September: Iron and Steel in South<br />
Wales – Bob Jones<br />
17 October: Newport Wetlands: A<br />
Hidden Gem - Daniel Suge of the<br />
Royal Society for the Protection of<br />
Birds (RSPB)<br />
21 November: An introduction to<br />
the South Wales Metro programme:<br />
updates for <strong>Rhiwbina</strong>, the Coryton<br />
and Rhymney line. Jessica Clement<br />
12 December: Christmas quiz with<br />
nibbles and drinks.<br />
Meetings are held in the Canolfan<br />
Beulah starting at 7.30 pm. For<br />
further information, please visit<br />
therhiwbinasociety.org, or find them<br />
on Twitter at @<strong>Rhiwbina</strong>_Soc or their<br />
Facebook page. You can also phone<br />
07811 509490.<br />
The Society works to preserve<br />
the village atmosphere for which<br />
<strong>Rhiwbina</strong> is famed, and to foster a<br />
sense of community and civic pride.
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