Calling all budding poets -the Living Levels Poetry Competition is EXTENDED!

Living Levels has teamed up with award-winning poet Ben Ray to bring you the Living Levels Poetry Competition.

The theme is the Gwent Levels – so whether you’re writing about the landscape, the history, the people or about a personal story, we want to read it!  

The prize will include Ben Ray performing it live during his online ‘Sound Levels Live!’ event ‘Poetic Wales’ on December 16th  Details

 There are three age group categories:

Under 8’s

9 – 16

17 and over 

EXTENDED Closing date: Friday December 11th (winners will be notified by Monday 14th December)

Entries must be emailed to info@livinglevels.org.uk with the title ‘Poetry Competition’ and must include your name, age and contact details.

#VolunteersWeek2020: WEX and YAC - introducing our Heritage Heroes!

One of the key elements of the Gwent Levels landscape is the crucial link between its history, archaeology and the wildlife - that’s what makes it so unique.

With this in mind, Living Levels has brought together two youth groups from across the Levels with very different interests, on a landscape that combines the two beautifully. The Wildlife Explorers (WEX) based at Newport Wetlands and the South East Wales branch of the Young Archaeologists Club (YAC) meet on the same day of the month and are on the look-out for new members.

Kevin Hewitt from the WEX group takes up the story  “The inspiration for me was attending the Living Levels supported Day School event last summer at Redwick. It was a bit of a ‘Eureka!’ moment since WEX was going through poorish times and needed a fresh focus,  so why not focus locally and link in with the history of the Levels?”

At the same time, Living Levels had been discussing potential archaeological activities with Rebecca Eversley-Dawes of the YACs. So, the solution was easy; why not organise joint activities on the Levels looking at both wildlife and archaeology? – let’s face it, both groups share key interest elements like being outdoors, handling stuff and getting muddy. So that’s what we did, back before we were all told to stay indoors!

20 children and adults from the Chepstow, Newport and Cardiff areas came together for the first Living Levels ‘Heritage Heroes’  activity on the Gwent Levels. We kicked-off with a mile long walk across muddy fields from the Newport Wetlands Centre to St Mary’s Church in Nash, introducing everyone to the medieval ditch network and the wildlife found in and around the reens. The group was greeted by Sue Waters of the 3 Parish Heritage Group, who gave a wonderful history of the church, before donning headtorches and braving its medieval tower, from where the ditch network, Severn Estuary and Bridge, Wetlands, hills to the north and  former site of Goldcliff Priory could be seen in all their glory!  There was also time for building and wildlife surveys around the church before heading back.

Rebecca Eversley-Dawes of the Young Archaeologists Club sums up the partnership: “YAC is 25 years this year and during our many years based in Newport we have come to rely on the Archaeology which surrounds us to teach us more about our ancestors. Any opportunity to learn something new is welcomed and we look forward to working in partnership with the Living levels project and WEX to combine interests in this archaeological landscape. Our team are looking forward to introducing some much loved activities with others and will enjoy exchanging knowledge of this area.”

#VolunteersWeek2020: Jeremy White

Volunteering seems to have been something that I’ve always done, even from an early age. 

I’ve had adult roles in the Scouts for decades and been a member of a local archaeology group for twenty years.  When I retired I thought I could help out at Newport Wetlands for a day a week.  I’d have a regular structure to the week, something different to do and plenty to learn… think of all the birds, insects and plants to find out about.  And there’s an interesting landscape to understand. Nowadays I help out at the visitor centre talking to visitors, leading guided walks and helping behind the scenes develop the knowledge of our volunteers. For example, we’re often asked about the East Usk Lighthouse… do we have a lighthouse, is it a real one, does it work, what’s it for?  It’s awkward when you can’t give a decent answer so I researched and wrote a few pages about its history.  It wasn’t long before the team started to think that I could “do history” or was even “an expert”.  My protests that I know very little about history since I’m an amateur archaeologist went unheeded.  After all I’d volunteered without giving a comprehensive list of what I didn’t do (or wouldn’t do).

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The next “little project” was to set up and catalogue the new display cabinet in the visitor centre … we filled it with local archaeological finds and replica flint tools. It’s a good starting point when talking to visitors about what life on the levels was once like.  It’s also a strong tie-in to the work of the Living Levels Landscape Programme.  So, now I’ve been helping the LLLP team with events (Gavin’s “Levels from Above” walks) and the development of more history resources.  I really hadn’t started out thinking I’d write a chapter for the KLLP’s history of the Levels, let alone two (remember when every other volunteer takes a step back, you should, too).  I’d only thought that it would be nice to go on a couple of free courses to improve my archaeology.  I’ve spent dozens of hours helping digitise the Court of Sewers maps having learned a bit about public-facing Geographical Information Systems.  I’ve ended up extremely muddy after four days of estuarine archaeology out on the Peterstone mud flats.  But, at least I know a bit more to talk to visitors about so they can better appreciate their time in the Levels.

Jeremy White

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For general queries about volunteering with Living Levels, please contact the Living Levels Volunteer Coordinator,  Beccy Williams: rwilliams@gwentwildlife.org

#VolunteersWeek2020: Mike Rees

At the moment I’m spending my time with Sir Charles Morgan and Sir Thomas Robert Salusbury, Baronets, Thomas Lewis of St. Pierre, William Phillips of Whitson, amongst others, through the record of their deliberations as Commissioners as they manage the Levels of Caldicot and Wentlooge - the Court of Sewers Book Minute Book (1811 - 1824).

And when I need a break? 

I walk to Mounton Brook and sit on its banks in a meadow the tithe map for the area shows was once owned by the same Thomas Lewis of St Pierre.

Mike Rees

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For general queries about volunteering with Living Levels, please contact the Living Levels Volunteer Coordinator,  Beccy Williams: rwilliams@gwentwildlife.org

#VolunteersWeek2020: Cath Davis

I had never heard of the Living Levels project until I attended a meeting at NRW Pye Corner in 2018. The 'Gwent Now' Police email headlined it as a meeting on fly-tipping; I was very interested in this topic as the area in which I live on the Wentlooge Levels suffers badly from this nuisance.

The meeting room was full and I signed up to receive further information about the project. A newsletter was sent out and a piece about volunteering to do history research seemed interesting to me. The timing was good as I had just retired from work;  I also had a great interest in the area as I had spent my early life on my grandfather's farm at Rumney and I owned some land at Marshfield - all contained within the Wentlooge Levels.

As I learned more about the Living Levels Project and all that it encompassed I became very enthusiastic and totally committed to spreading the word to anyone that listens! I keep my local shop stocked with information leaflets and brochures of events, I will put up posters that advertise forthcoming events and basically do anything to help spread the word.

Part of the project is to re-engage people with their landscape and it certainly has done that for me. I just keep thinking why wasn't something like this ever done before!

I have thoroughly enjoyed the RATS history group and learned so much during the process of research and our sessions with Rose Hewlett. I have met some great and interesting people who have become good friends.

The coronavirus lockdown has unfortunately stifled the project at the moment; this has been very disappointing as I miss all the events and people associated with running the project. I hope that we can make up for our lost time in the coming months.

Cath Davis

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For general queries about volunteering with Living Levels, please contact the Living Levels Volunteer Coordinator,  Beccy Williams: rwilliams@gwentwildlife.org