Protect Glaslyn & Hafren Red Listed Birds Exhibition

The Protect Glaslyn & Hafren 22 Red Listed Birds Exhibition

At The Wild Oak Cafe, Llanidloes 2nd - 28th June

Protect Glaslyn & Hafren Red Listed Birds Exhibition

Throughout history, artists have used their work to challenge the status quo and inspire change. In this exhibition we are aiming to draw attention to the 22 Welsh Red Listed birds that make their home in a very specific area of the Cambrian Mountains between Dylife and Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust’s (MWT) Glaslyn Nature Reserve as observed by volunteer warden of the reserve and avid birder, John Bimson.  

During the last 13 years he has recorded 95 different bird species in this area, 22 of which are birds that are declining and need our help.  These Red Listed species, recognised for being of the greatest conservation concern in Wales, include hen harriers, curlew and cuckoo, whose presence highlights the ecological value of the area.

Bute Energy are proposing to build a wind farm in the area between Glaslyn Nature Reserve and the Hafren forest.  MWT have encouraged their members to oppose this development:  "We’re very concerned about the current proposed location of this renewable energy project, which is adjacent to our Glaslyn Nature Reserve, on its south-east and north-west boundaries. We’re therefore asking you, our supporters, to join us in ensuring that Bute Energy do the right thing for wildlife and find another, more suitable location for their planned renewable energy project."

This exhibition features work from 19 local artists, each inspired by the extraordinary birds that call the site home. They use a broad range of different styles and media but with a common love and respect for this subject.

Protect Glaslyn & Hafren is committed to fighting climate change but not at the expense of critical habitat loss.  As the Welsh Government’s own Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee said in January 2025: “The urgency of tackling nature loss cannot be overstated. It is as critical as addressing climate change, yet it has struggled to secure the same level of prominence both publicly and politically.”  We are asking the Welsh Government to keep in mind that we are facing both a nature emergency and a climate emergency and to refuse Bute’s planning application

Once the habitat is lost, the birds are lost – maybe for ever.